Revival of the Legendary Bird
by MariaMagi
Summary: Aspiring trainer Mimi has left New Bark Town on her quest to be just like her idol, Red. This is her goal, but her true destiny may change the world. Manga/Anime/Game collision  universe. Rated for swearing and violence in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1: The Adventure Begins!

Ok, here it is, the repost of Chapter 1.

Chapters 2-9 will be reposted soon with some minor edits. Please enjoy this one.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: The Adventure Begins!<strong>

… I was riding a bird Pokémon.

I think.

As I glided through the air, I could feel something pulling back on my hair. Putting my hand to it, I felt a feather. I could hear the vague tinkling of a bell tied to my waist. But then, the giant bird landed atop a tower and a huge bell above me rang. I lost my balance and fell. As I descended, I heard a calming voice say, "It's not over yet."

Then, a loud beeping started right next to me.

I sat up, and realized that I was sitting in my room. I tripped over a pillow on the floor and turned off the alarm as I fell. Picking myself up, I wandered over to the window.

Just as I reached it, a rock flew out of nowhere and hit it.

I slid open the window, ready to yell at whoever did that, and I noticed Will standing below. His brown hair was spiked under his black and red hat and he smiled as he yelled, "Happy birthday, Mimi!"

"Hey! Why were you doing that?"

"I didn't know if you would look out or not!"

"I'll be down in a second!" I walked out into the hall and grabbed my favorite orange shirt. I walked into the bathroom and brushed my hair, tying it up and putting on my baseball hat. Tying my skirt around my waist, I checked my tights, making sure they were the right ones. They were black, and thankfully matched. I ran downstairs and started putting on my shoes. Today Will and I were heading to Cherrygrove town to explore and buy some souvenirs. I noticed Will wandering in, followed closely by his Marill. My mother's Furret ran over to greet him. He had already had his thirteenth birthday, and his parents had gotten him a Marill in celebration. Today was my birthday, and I would hopefully get a good Pokémon. I took a Rage Candy Bar from the shelf and started to eat it. It tasted like peanut butter and pretzels. We started out the door before my mother stopped us. "Mimi. Your PokeGear is fixed." She said, handing it to me. "Also, Professor Elm wanted to see you."

"Huh? Really?"

"It is your birthday, after all!" Will said, happily. I skipped out the door, and started running towards the lab. I ran ahead by a few feet and saw a shady-looking kid standing outside, looking in the window. He was tall and had red hair. The coat he was wearing was black with red trim, and he was also wearing blue jeans. The coat flared open at the top, showing a green scarf and dark blue shirt. I also took notice of Will's outfit- a yellow t-shirt under a red sweater. Noticing that I was observing his outfit, He looked at me and said, "If you make one 'shorts are comfy and easy to wear' joke, then I will have to battle you." One guess what he was wearing. Marill ran forward and opened the door for us. I ran ahead and said, a bit too loudly, "Hello, Professor! I'm here!" He was sitting on a rolling chair, and started to roll towards us. Naturally, the wheel caught on the threshold and he fell over. "Oh, hi. Mimi, Will."

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Ah, yes." He said, getting up and dusting himself off. "Please, choose a Pokémon from here. It is custom in this town to give children one when they become a teenager."

He walked over to a strange looking machine and pressed a few buttons. The hood popped up and three minute Poke Balls sat in its place.

"Which one do you want?"

I removed each one and looked at the picture and description of the Pokemon inside:

Totodile

Water type

Male

Cyndiquil

Fire type

Male

Chikorita

Grass type

Male

I picked up the Chikorita and announced, "This one. I want the Chikorita, please."

"All right! Do you want to nickname it?"

"Ummm…" I hadn't thought of that.

"Chicky…!"

"Okay, then… It is now known as Chicky! However, I just received a call from a man who calls himself Mr. Pokemon. He says he has something for me, but I think you should go get it. It'd be a good experience for you."

"Oh! Okay!"

"Alright. But first, can I get your PokeGear number in case something comes up?"

"Oh, okay!" I handed him my PokeGear and he wrote it down.

"All right. I'll be sure to call you!"

I left, and as soon as I got outside, I let out Chicky.

"Hey there!" I said, friendly as possible. "Aren't you cute?"

It growled a bit and looked away.

I started to walk forward and found that it followed me.

"Maybe because it's still little?" I wondered aloud. I began to walk through the grass when, suddenly, a Rattatta leaped out at me!

"G-go! Chicky!" Chicky stood over to the side, not noticing. The Rattatta chattered to the sky, which summoned more.

"Eek! H-help! Someone help me!"

Suddenly, I saw a white flash and a Sneasel appeared in front of me. I heard a boy's voice say, "Go. Scratch, now!" The Rattatta, seeing a powerful opponent, ran away. The Sneasel returned in another beam and I turned around to thank the trainer, but by the time I turned, he was gone. I cautiously made my way after that, and eventually found myself at a house with an… Apricorn tree. I recognized it after a moment or two from my Mother's pictures of Violet city. I walked inside, and, seeing someone inside, walked over and said, "Hello, sir?"

"Ah! Did you come to see me? So many people mistake me for Mr. Pokemon. Here! Since you are the first sincere visitor in so long, I will give you this!"

He threw a small box at me that looked a bit like a picnic basket. Inside I found a few boxes with Apricorns of varying colors taped to the inside. There was also a blender inside.

"The blender can be used to make Aprijuice, which will power up your Pokemon," He said happily. "When you find some, try it out!"

"Um… Well… I…"

"Now, run along! If you find a lot of Apricorns, I'll give you another item!"

"O-okay, sir…"

I ran from that house as soon as possible, and feeling a bit hungry, I took a Rage Candy Bar from my bag and began to eat it. I turned the corner, careful to avoid rustling grass and trainers, and occasionally checking to see if Chicky was still following me. He was, so I pushed on. By the time I found the next house, the sun had definitely traveled some, and the moon was rising to my right. I saw a mailbox, with the sign, "Mr. Pokemon". I ran inside, and spoke to the old man inside.

"Why hello! Professor Elm told me about you! You weren't… delayed, were you?" He said, eyeing Chicky suspiciously.

"A little, but someone stopped the Rattatta."

"Oh. How nice. Anyway, have this." He held out a white egg with red and blue triangles on it. I placed it carefully in my bag and thanked him. In the middle of doing so, however, the phone rang, and I stood awkwardly in his dining room. Chicky sat down on the rug and began to nibble at its leaf. Mr. Pokemon made spoke nervously into the phone.

"Y-yes. Yes. I'll tell her. Yes. Okay. She's on her way." He hung up the phone.

"Have a seat. I'll be back in a moment."

I settled onto the sofa and waited. He handed me a small parcel.

"It's camping supplies. But you must hurry! There is an emergency at Professor Elm's lab." He fastened a collar around Chicky's neck and handed me a leash.

"Hurry! This way he won't slow you down."

"Oh! Thanks! Let's go! I placed the supplies next to my PokeGear and lead Chicky outside. We walked as fast as we could until we almost made it back to Cherrygrove Town. There was another old man there, who introduced himself as a guide. He lead me back to the town before handing me some running shoes. Thanking him and putting them on, I ran back to Cherrygrove, Chicky riding on my hat.

I made it back safe and sound, until I heard a familiar voice shouting, "Get out of the way."

He was speeding through the town before bumping into me. It was the suspicious kid from earlier!

"Oh, it's you. The helpless girl from earlier."

"I…I'm not helpless!"

"Your ability to train Pokemon doesn't show it." He smirked.

"I'm better than I look!"

"Then prove it. Go, Cyndiquil."

"Go, Chicky!"

I pointed, and Chicky, feeling as insulted as me, ran out in front.

"Okay, Razor leaf!"

"Flamethrower!"

The two attacks met in mid-air, and Chicky dodged the blast. The leaves flew towards Cyndiquil causing a small amount of damage. However, Cyndiquil was thrown back by the shock and was unable to get back up. He called it back and sent out the Sneasel from earlier.

"Fury swipes."

Chicky tried to dodge, but Sneasle moved too quickly. Barely able to stand, Chicky lifted its leaf to the sky. Suddenly, it glowed bright green. Chicky hurled the leaf towards Sneasle as multi-colored leaves flew out. They chased it down until it made impact, knocking out the powerful Pokemon. The young man called it back and ran straight into me. He dropped his trainer case, and offering it to him, he snatched it from my hand. "Y-you saw my name…" He turned and ran. I stood, confused, as people walked about, saying things like, "You did great!" and "I'll help you get to the Pokemon Center if you like." But the only thing I could say was a murmur of his name.

"Ivan…?"

I dragged myself to the Pokemon Center. I cautiously answered the nurse's questions and eventually got Chicky back. He jumped right back onto my shoulder. As we walked, I stopped in epiphany- That Cyndiquil looked awfully like the picture back at the lab! I ran all the way back to New Bark Town and ran into the lab. There was a police officer there, and he ran to me and grabbed my arm. He picked Chicky up off my shoulder and said, "Sir, I told you that they usually return to the scene of the crime!"

"No, no! Officer! This is Mimi. She received this Pokemon, Chicky, for her birthday."

"Oh. All right."

"Officer, was the stolen Pokemon a Cyndiquil?"

Professor Elm rolled over to the machine and checked.

"Yes! It was!" He cried out.

"Oh no! It… It _was _That boy…"

"Huh?"

"Yes! There was a boy! He took the Cyndiquil! It looked just like the one you showed me!"

"What was his name?"

"I-Ivan! His name was Ivan!"

"Thank you, Mimi. We will begin the search for him."

Mentally, I apologized to him. I was scared. I didn't want him to get in trouble, but…

Chicky and I had finally become friends. I didn't want to get in trouble for something I didn't do. I was raised to be a good girl. I have been told all my life, "If it's a crime, then it is not tattling."

But somehow, I felt a relief. Purged of pent-up worry and emotion, it was all I could do to trudge to Will's house and crash next to him on the couch.

"Long day, Mimi?"

"Yeah." I told him everything that happened as the credits for _Red's Adventure _scrolled across the screen.

"Really?" He gasped as I told him about the egg. He gaped in awe when I pulled it out of my bag. He held it close to him, keeping it warm. "You have to incubate it." He said happily.

I continued to tell the story. He cheered as I told him of my victory, looked at me in terror as I told him of the Police officer accusing me, and sighed once it all got sorted out.

"What happened this time?" I said, gesturing to the television. We always would hang out together and watch Red together. It was exciting to see him battle. We would always ooh and aah as the Pokemon pulled off amazing, brilliantly executed attacks. This trainer, the all-time League Champion Red, was nearly every trainer's hero. This was an adaptation of his grand adventure three years ago, when he fought off Team Rocket.

"He battled Lt. Surge." Will said, getting some chips from the cabinet.

"Next, he's going on the S.S. Anne."

We watched the next episode happily, as Red bought, of all things, a golden Magikarp.

"Why would he buy that?"

"It's awesome! Seriously! It learns to use Dragon Rage earlier!"

"Wow! How cool!"

Eventually, the credits rolled, and I packed my bag, took back the Pokemon egg, and ran back to my house. Climbing back into my bed, I could only reflect on how long a day that had been…

I had the same dream. Only this time, the voice said, "Your journey begins now."

I woke up. I turned off my alarm, not tripping this time. I got dressed, put on my shoes, and walked outside, heading to Cherrygrove Town. I kept walking until I reached Violet City. I walked, carefully, forward. I saw a girl wearing a Kimono up ahead, talking in hushed voices with a man with blue hair, and an old woman. When they saw me approaching, the woman walked towards the huge tower to the north, the man walked into the large building just past where they were standing, and the girl stood there. I walked towards the Pokemon Center, the building with the red roof, and the girl approached me.

She must have seen the egg, because she gasped when she saw it, looked up at me and gasped again.

"So it has found its way to you…"


	2. Chapter 2: Vs Cyndiquil!

**Chapter 2: Vs. Cyndiquil!**

I could only blink and stare at her. Her features were clearly defined by the bright makeup, and an expression of awe was in her eyes.

"Then the other two…"

She looked behind me and her face changed from a smile and admiration to a pout and angry eyes.

"They're not with you."

I shook my head, but before I could say anything else, she spun around, and I noticed a tiny black Pokemon hiding behind her sleeve.

"It's okay. I must go now. Good bye, Mimi!" She spun around again, and ran off.

"I never told her my name…"

Still wondering, I walked out of the gate again.

As I was walking, the first thing I did was trip over a small rock in the road. It picked it up, and under it was a tiny disk. It read, "return". I picked it up and placed it in my bag. I called Professor Elm, and was a bit surprised to see him walk around the corner.

"Hello, Professor!"

"Hi, Mimi! In all the hullaballoo, I forgot to give you this! Sorry!"

He handed over a small object that looked sort of like my PokeGear.

"What is it?"

"It's a Pokedex. It contains information on all the Pokemon you've caught."

"Really? Wait, what kind?"

"Like, the number the Pokemon is in the Pokedex, how much it weighs, how tall it is, what it looks like, a basic description, what its level is, and its attacks. Also, if your Pokemon is evolving, it allows you to stop the evolution process. It emits a wavelength that spooks the Pokemon out of evolving." He also explained what the disk was: an TM. TMs, he explained, allowed Pokemon to learn moves when they aren't evolving or gaining levels. HMs were similar, but TMs broke after one use, while HMs lasted forever.

Understanding, we conversed for a few more minutes, before I left and went back to Union Cave. I walked around inside, but got a little lost. I was scared until a man came over and breathed fire near us. He introduced himself as a firebreather, and guided Chicky and I out of the cave. We thanked him, and I was surprised to see that Chicky had gained a few levels. Now level 13, we paraded proudly out of the cave. I broke the disk over Chicky's head, and he smiled brightly as he ran into me. I checked the move description on the Pokedex, and it said that the move gains power the more the user likes its trainer. I petted Chicky, ruffling the fur on his head. He purred and pushed his head into my palm. I was so happy I hugged the tiny grass Pokemon tightly.

"Let's go! Not much can stop us now!"

We paraded back into the city gates, when…

THUD!

"You said that you had a rare Pokemon!"

"Well, I don't have it yet!"

I turned around, and behind me was Ivan and Will, arguing, while holding two Pokemon eggs. Will was holding a magenta-colored egg with a light blue triangle on it. Ivan was holding a blue-colored egg with a red triangle on it.

"What's going on?"

"YOU THERE!" Ivan yelled, at the very top of his lungs, "I CHALLENGE YOU!"

… Oh GOD. I think everyone in this whole city just heard that.

"You're on, bucko!" I yelled back, and called out Chicky, who remembered the drill from last time. He ran out in front and stood, ready to fight.

"Let's start things out with Magical Leaf!" Chicky swung the leaf towards Ivan's Sneasel, who made a vague attempt to dodge before unleashing ice beam on the leaves, stopping them dead in their tracks. They fell to the ground and shattered into crystalline bits.

"Woah!" Will yelled from the sidelines. "That was cool!" He seemed to have forgotten that he was just yelling at Ivan not long ago.

I called for Chicky to use Return. It hit head-on, and greatly damaged Sneasel.

"What was that?" Ivan yelled out, embarrassed at his Pokemon's swift defeat.

"Return. It grows in power the more the Pokemon likes the trainer," I explained.

He called out Cyndiquil, which unleashed Ember. It latched onto Chicky, and burned it.

"Hang in there!" I called to Chicky, who looked determined despite the hole in its leaf.

I called for it to use Magical Leaf, but its power was impeded by the burn. It caused even less damage than it would have caused.

Leafy fell over the next turn.

"Withdraw it!" Will called. "Give up! A burned Pokemon can't faint if its in its Pokeball!"

I was about to do as he said, when the egg I was holding suddenly hatched.

Out popped a tiny Pokemon that had a spiky head and triangles on its shell. I whipped out my PokeDex to see what it said-

"Togepi, the happiness Pokemon. It is a baby, and the first thing it sees it deems to be its mother."

"Okay, what attacks do you know?" I clicked around in the PokeDex, and found that it knew Metronome and Charm.

"Okay! Use Metronome!"

Togepi tilted its hands from side to side and began to glow. It cried out and unleashed a powerful wave… That missed.

"Aww no…"

Poor Togepi was too tuckered out to keep going, so it sat down. Cyndiquil saw an opportunity before Ivan could say a word, and Tackled it. It rolled back towards me. Then it rolled back towards Cyndiquil.

"Rollout! Awesome!"

It increased in speed as it turned back to run into it again. I checked the health level. We couldn't afford to take one hit, or…Togepi sped up, and finally threw Cyndiquil up into the air. It fell back to the ground and whimpered.

"Hmph." Ivan pulled out the PokeBall and called it back. Before he could turn to leave, I heard clapping behind me. I turned around to see a tall, handsome young man. He had short blue hair and bright gray eyes. He was wearing a blue happi coat and short blue hakama. The geta he wore had blue straps. He had silver and red arm braces. He looked a little like a samurai from the ocean, or the sky.

"Well, well! That was a great match!" He said, picking up Togepi.

"You okay?" He asked it. It answered back angrily. He handed it back to me.

"I think it likes you better."

"Oh, thank you." I said, a bit embarrassed and flustered.

"Let's get them to the Pokemon Center." He said, calling to Ivan and Will.

Will followed happily, but had drag Ivan along to come with them.

"What, were you going to run away?" I said in a joking tone.

"What if I was?" He said angrily.

"He must not get it." The man laughed. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "I'm sorry! I haven't yet introduced myself. My name is Falkner. I am the gym leader of this city. Are you here for the gym challenge?"

"Yes!" I said, almost tripping over an uneven spot in the road.

"Well, just looking at your Pokemon…" He said, eyeing them profoundly, "You might want to train a bit more. Do you know how to capture Pokemon?"

"Uhh… Well, you see…"

"No?" He chuckled a bit, and said with a kind smile, "No need to worry. I'll teach you. It's a gym leader's duty to assist all trainers."

Will followed us over the grass just outside the city.

"See that there?" He pointed to a tiny, bird-like Pokemon. It was dark brown and had large "eyebrows" and red eyes. It balanced on tiny pink talons. "That's a Hoothoot. Based on it's coloring, I'd say it's about level 6 and probably male." Falkner said calmly.

"You can tell all that?" I whispered.

"Yeah. I specialize in flying types, and when you get to the level of gym leaders, you can usually tell all these things just based on size and coloring. Certain types of coloring are much rarer than these."

I nodded. He sent out a huge, tan-colored bird with long tails of feathers off its head.

"Pidgeot! Use Gust!" The attack sent the little Hoothoot flying, but it turned around and came towards him.

"Dodge and use peck, right back at it!"

It did so, and the little bird fell from the sky.

"Here, throw this. It's only yours if you yourself throw the Pokeball!" He handed me a shiny, red and white ball.

Following what he said, I threw it with all my might at the dazed creature, which turned into red light and was shrunk into the orb. It shook for a moment before it stopped moving.

"Great job!"

He clapped again as I picked it up. I heard a strange chattering and looked up to see… A Rattatta. With a scar above it's eye, no doubt from a fury swipes attack.

"That's the same Rattatta from before!" I cried, and this time, Chicky came to my rescue. It used magical leaf and brought it down. I threw another Pokeball, and caught it.

"Good job. It shouldn't bother you now." Falkner said.

"Train some more, and I'll be happy to challenge you when you want."

He walked back into the direction of the gym.

I called my Pokemon to come out, and looked at all of them.

"Okay. Togepi, your name is Togii. I'll name HootHoot Sora, and Rattatta Ratty. How about that?" I extended my hand to the purple mouse. "Friends?" It bit my hand in response.

"'Kay, maybe not yet."

I went to the Pokemon Center and walked over the PC.

"Nurse? Why does this have a chute in it?"

"Oh! That's to use the Pokemon transfer system." She came out, bringing a Pokeball with her. She pressed a few buttons on the machine, put the Pokeball under the chute, and it shot up into the computer. Another popped out, and a Yanma appeared from it.

"It allows you to access your Pokemon from Professor Elm's lab and put more in. This boy named Bill came up with it. This will be useful to you, since you are only allowed to have 6 with you."

I thanked her and placed Ratty's Pokeball in the chute. It shot up and I heard a pinging noise. I looked up and it wasn't there anymore. I looked at the screen, which said, "RATTY HAS BEEN RECEIVED. PLACED IN BOX 1."

I logged off and looked around. I saw a stairwell nearby, and asked the nurse where it lead.

"It goes to the Wi-Fi union room." She said. "Do try it out." She lead me up to the stairs, and the clerk filed my name and took my trainer card.

"It's a precaution. Some people used to go to these rooms and make unfair trades. This lead to a lot of issues, and people would sometimes leave before making their end of the trade, causing some thievery. This way, we can identify any trainer that comes in and leaves."

I stepped on the pad, and it lifted into the air, and I landed in a serene room. I looked down and saw that I looked a bit filmy. Confused, I made my way to the lady at the end of the room, who was also filmy.

"Relax! Everyone does that at first." She said, seeing my pretty much spazzing. "You are hooked up to a virtual reality machine. This allows you to talk to trainers anywhere without leaving the safety of the Pokemon Center." I took a few steps back, and turned around, seating myself at a chair on the side of the room.

I suddenly saw a familiar face standing in the corner, looking at the PokeBalls attached to her waist. "…Alyssa?" I ran over to her. Her blue beret was tilted, and her black hair was a little frizzy. She looked like she was very stressed, and her eyes were a little wet. The blue jacket she wore had some red tinges on it. One of the PokeBalls on her waist was empty.

"Are you all right?"

"Y-yeah." She rubbed her face with her sleeve. "Nothing. It's nothing. I lost a few battles, and a contest didn't go so well."

"Oh. Well would you like to draw a picture?" I offered the sketch pad that had been given to me.

"No, thanks."

She looked sad and disinterested.

"…Would you mind leaving me alone?" She finally snaps at me.

"S-sorry."

"Never mind. I'm sorry. Where are you?"

"Violet city. You?"

"Snowpoint City." She said, looking a little confused. "You already beat the gym challenge there, right?" She asked.

"Non, not yet."

"Here, you'll need this. She handed me a blue and red PokeBall. Inside I saw a tiny yellow and blue pokemon inside with minus signs on its cheeks.

"That's Minu. He'll help you out."

"Why? Isn't it a high level?"

"Yeah, but… It's an electric type. There aren't many of those in Johto, right?"

"Don't you need another P"

"No!" She cut me off. "Go away."

I back out onto the panel, and wake up in the Pokemon Center on a small bed.

"Did something happen?" The clerk asks.

"Yeah, but I'm okay."

I walked back out into the harsh sunlight as I wondered just what it was that I had seen.

"What's up? You look like something happened." Will asked, as we went to capture some more Pokemon.

"It's nothing. Nothing happened." I said, a little too quickly.

"Oh, well. Have you gone to Sprout Tower yet? Ivan ran off that way."

"Oh, no." I responded dully. "I'll go over there.

I started to walk towards the tower, when a strange noise from the other end of town caught my attention. I walked towards it, and eventually I found a gate. I walked through the gate and into the plaza ahead. There were ruined buildings around the square. I found a modern looking building and stepped inside carefully. There were several researchers inside. The oldest, and the leader, I presumed, told me to go check out the puzzles in the northern hall. I decided to explore my odd surroundings. I found a large cavern and climbed the ladder into the downstairs area. Inside, a saw a girl looking around, covered in the dust of the ruins. She looked deep in her research, consulting her Umbreon, so I decided not to bother her. It looked so pretty, and Togii looked a little jealous. I walked back out into the sunlight and entered the hall he had requested, my eyes adjusting to the dank light. The woman near a huge stone tablet ushered me over.

"Hi! Would you like to try the puzzle?" She sounded as if she were a barker at a theme park rather than a researcher at a ruin.

"Sure, why not?" I responded. I pulled the pieces together, according to the hint below, "Water dweller". I pushed them into the shape of an Omastar.

"How's this!"

"Wow, you solved it-!" She was cut off by a sudden rumbling and screams that may have been mine or from the people below me, but suddenly, the ground beneath my feet crumbled.


	3. Chapter 3: Vs Pidgeot!

**Chapter 3: Vs. Pidgeot!**

I was terrified for a few moments- but then my feet touched ground. I wobbled back and forth and tried to adjust to the dim light. When I finally could see, I swore my eyes were playing tricks on me: there were odd flying letter-like creatures floating about. The people who had been walking around in this hall were running, trying to climb back up the stairs as soon as they could. Leafy leapt down behind me, and used magical leaf on one of the things. I threw a PokeBall at it and it disappeared. The thing shook for a moment before staying still. I checked its data. It was called Unown, and it had a lot of mysteries about it. I picked it up and saw a small button on it that said, "release". I pressed it, and the Unown shot out in a ball of blue light, prior to flying away. Togii had rolled a few yards away from me, so I dashed over to him and picked him up, careful not to scare him.

"I'm sorry!" The poor thing was crying, and I rocked it back and forth gently to calm it. I still didn't have a Pokeball for it, but something told me to wait. I switched around the PokeBalls on my belt until Minu came out. I noticed that a sparkling object was in its paws.

"Can I have that, Minu?" I asked it gently. It growled but handed it over.

I turned it over and over in my hand before I put it in my bag. I stepped back out into the sunlight. I wanted space between me and this place, so I set to walking. I finally headed back to the huge pagoda inside Violet City.

"Sprout Tower. According to legend, a 100 foot tall Bellsprout became the center of the tower and is honored and revered."

I walked forward and climbed the ladder. The tower shifted and I lost my balance. This time I held onto Togii, and he didn't cry. I kept climbing, and eventually I saw a monk off to one side.

"In order to face our master, you must defeat as many of us as possible!" He threw out a Bellsprout.

"Go! Minu!" The little blue mouse ran out to the Bellsprout. "Okay, ThunderShock!" I was expecting a dramatic BOOM, but the little mouse looked at me disappointedly and stared up at the ceiling. The Bellsprout used Vine Whip, which caused Minu to leap backwards. I called it back and sent out Togii. Now at level 5, I thought this would help it gain experience.

"Use Metronome!"

It moved its hands back and forth again before it let out a huge flash of light.

"Aww man, explosion?" I rooted around in my bag for a Revive, but it was no where to be found.

I picked up the little egg and called out Chicky.

"Use magical leaf!" The level 7 Bellsprout was unprepared, and fainted. I walked over to the disappointed monk. I could tell that he was much younger than he looked with his bald head.

"Here." I handed him a potion. "Don't let them get like that."

He accepted it and I moved up more. There were a few more battles like this, and I alternated between Chicky and Sora.

We finally arrived at the top of the tower. Needless to say, I was a bit surprised to see Ivan at the top. He had just battled the master of the tower.

"Now, Ivan. That was a great battle. But you must treat them kinder. They will perform even more beautifully in return."

Ivan merely grunted in response before pulling an escape rope out of his backpack. He descended out the window and out of sight.

"Have you come here for the prize?" Said the master.

"Y-yes." I bowed in respect.

"Your name is Mimi, correct? No need to worry. There was a prophecy."

"Huh?" I never thought someone like me would show up in a vision.

"Yes. It was minor, don't worry. That you would come after him."

"Oh. I'm not in trouble, right?"

"No, not to worry." He chuckled. "This is Rock Smash." He handed a small disk to me, marked HM Rock Smash. I gratefully accepted it before exiting the tower in the same method.

I landed on the ground a little shaken up, but okay otherwise.

"Togii, are you all right?" The tiny egg was wiggling, making tired sounds. "Let's get you to the Pokemon Center."

The nurse accepted my Pokemon and placed them on a small machine. It lit up and glowed for a few minutes and then said, "Healed". Togii rolled off the counter and into my arms. It smiled and twittered. I took back the others and walked out of the Center. I checked everyone's levels, and I decided to make my way to the PokeMart. I purchased a large group of potions with my prize money, and walked into the Gym.

The building had a huge atrium- it was actually the entire building. It reached up so high my neck began to hurt looking up. A tall man wearing a tropical-printed shirt and sunglasses approached me.

"Hey! You're Mimi, right? Your mother told me all about you!" He said, shaking my hand. "I helped out your sister, too!" I winced at the mention of my sister, Kate. She wasn't the nicest, and had often made a game out of pulling my ponytail up into the air and keeping me aloft until I gave up.

I was, admittedly, a bit suspicious, so I flat out asked, "What was my sister's name, and what were the names of her Pokemon?"

"Her name is Kate. Her lead Pokemon was a Cyndiquil named Inferno." He smiled and said, "It's okay if you're a bit nervous, you never know with people nowadays."

He warned me that Chicky may have a hard time, but I felt that we were prepared. I stepped up the elevator and was launched into the sky. I looked at the platform below me and got dizzy. I stepped onto the stairs and glass path. I turned around and saw that the elevator had multiple gears sticking out of the lifting mechanism. I took a deep breath before walking over the glass path, avoiding the trainers, and up to Falkner. I took a deep breath before saying, "Sir, I challenge you."

He smiled before greeting me. "Mimi! I didn't expect you so soon. I can see that you've trained hard." The platform we were standing on lifted even higher into the sky, and the portion I was standing on separated and attached to one end of a huge platform that had lifted into the sky. I stepped onto the platform and the elevator pulled away. Falkner nodded and said to the referee, "Ready when you are!"

"Let the match… Begin!"

He called out his Pidgey. It was a bit stronger than I had expected, at level 10. I didn't want Chicky, who was weak to Flying-types, to be the first to go. I called out Minu, and once again called for him to use Thundershock. It obeyed- or so I thought. The little mouse shot out waves of light, which stunned the bird. Pidgey used tackle, and Minu glared at me. I called it back, upset. I sent out Chicky in response.

"Pidgey! Use gust!"

"Hang in there, Chicky!" Chicky was swept up into the air by the sudden blast of wind.

"Okay! Magical leaf, if you please!" The rainbow-colored leaves shot out as Chicky swung the leaf atop his head around. They tracked down the airborne bird until they crashed into it with a flurry of light and color. The bird flew down from the sky, landing behind Falkner.

"The level difference was too much, huh?" He said, patting Pidgey on the head. "I thought this would go on a bit longer." He called on the Pidgeot that had been circling the atrium for some time. "I won't hold back this time! Gust, go!" Pidgeot flapped its huge wings loudly, blowing Chicky away and off the platform-

"Chicky!" I cried, rolling over and grabbing it, digging my boots into the ground for a foothold. I checked its power level on the Pokedex. "You can't go anymore, huh?" I said, patting it on the head. "This guy's tough. It's okay."

Togii was shivering from the corner of the arena as I put Chicky back into the Pokeball.

"All right, Togii! Let's do this!" I pointed towards the center of the arena. The little Pokemon toddled onto the circle in the center.

Falkner pointed. Wings flapping. Wind everywhere…

"Metronome, go! Now!" I screamed, fighting for a voice above the crying of the wind…

Suddenly- nothing.

Everything had slowed down infinitely. Lines of energy came out of Togii. They formed a type of grid across the room.

"Trick room?" Falkner said, obviously surprised.

"I guess!" I said, and said, "Okay! Tackle!" It didn't do much, but it startled Pidgeot enough to land for a moment and roost. "Now, follow up with another metronome!" Just my luck, it was explosion yet again. "Why? Are you okay, Togii?" I said, catching the tiny creature. It quivered a bit and went to sleep.

"Okay, this is it! Let's go! Sora!" The Hoothoot flew out of the Pokeball, excited to battle the Pidgeot that had defeated it before. "Okay! Super drill peck!" The "super" did little to effect the power level, but it certainly increased the spirits in the arena. The pecking stirred up dust, and Pidgeot used gust again, causing a huge dust-cloud to form. I shielded my eyes from the sand flying…

The wind stopped.

The sand fell.

Both bird Pokemon were lying on the ground of the gym, too tired to continue. Falkner looked me in the eye and smiled. Suddenly, he broke the eye contact. "So, who won?" He asked the referee standing to the side. The two flags remained at his waist. "Even I couldn't say. What do you think, Alakazam?" He consulted the psychic Pokemon nearby, with lots of gestures and sound effects. Finally, Alakazam, too, shrugged.

Falkner did something I wasn't expecting in the least- he started laughing.

"T-That's pretty awesome! Haha! It-It- Even Alakazam can't figure it out! Hahaha!"

I started laughing too. "Haha! T-That's pretty bad! First challenge, and I mess up! Haha!"

"That wasn't bad at all! You were great!" For the first time, I was aware of Will and Ivan. They had been watching the whole thing. Will had said the earlier words of encouragement.

"Well, until we get the official word, I can't say you've won or lost. But…" He said, approaching me, "For a trainer using a grass-type so quickly and bravely in front of flying-types, I have to say I'm impressed. Hold out your hand." He placed a small metal object in my hand.

"Congratulations! This is the Zephyr badge. It's yours now." He smiled and called the moving platforms back, and we all landed on the ground floor again.

"Next, you'll want to go to Azalea Town. Have you already been to the Ruins of Alph?" I shuddered. "Yes? I guessed so. I heard people saying that the Unown had come back."

"Falkner, what are Unown? And why are they there?" I asked, trying my hardest to keep the curiosity out of my voice.

"Well, we don't know very much. But… My friend, Morty, and I have a theory about it. Do you know about the legendary Pokemon of Johto?" I shook my head. "There are the legendary dogs, Entei, the fire, Raikou, the lighting, and Suicune, the water. Ruling over the two are two legendary birds, Ho-oh and Lugia. We have been searching for them. I've been looking for Lugia, and Morty for Ho-oh. No luck, so far." He looked out the window, searching the clouds, as though "Lugia" would break through them at any minute. "A man named Eusine has been looking for Suicune, and a girl named Kate's been looking for Raikou."

"I want to look for Entei." I was surprised to hear Silver suddenly announce this.

"Why? So you can keep trying to beat her?" Will asked, teasing.

"Will, stop." I said, holding up a hand. "Why?"

"You'll find out sometime later." He turned around and left the atrium.

"What's his problem?" Falkner finally asked.

I was a bit taken aback by the casual nature of his question. "Eh? Um, I really don't know. He wants to be powerful…"

"Did you see his Pokemon?" Falkner said. "The way he treats them is sickening."

"This route is a lot shorter than I thought it would be." Will said, as we walked along the path leading to Azalea.

"Oh!" He stopped suddenly. "I nearly forgot!" He grabbed a Pokeball from his bag. "Total, come on out!"

"That's-!"

"Yep! The Totodile from the lab! Professor Elm said that since I'm going on a journey, I should take him!"

"That's great!"

We briefly stopped in the Pokemon Center. As our Pokemon were getting healed up, I asked Will, "Why is there a Pokemon Center here?"

"You didn't know? Union Cave is right here."

"Union Cave? I went through it earlier!"

"Eh? You did? When?"

"When I was training for the Violet City Gym Challenge. It's right nearby-"

"No! That was Dark Cave. Union Cave is right here."

We got our Pokemon back and proceeded into the cave. We got a few feet ahead and battled a few trainers. None of them were too exciting, but then I heard some commotion up ahead. The way it sounded, a girl was being threatened.

"Stay away, you creeps!"

"I'm telling you, SlowpokeTail is real tasty!"

"Yeah, you should buy a bunch!"

"No way! I came here looking for my Slowpoke!"

"HEY!" I finally yelled. It echoed through the cave and made me sound louder than I was.

"She said she didn't want any!" I yelled, calling out Chicky. The light from the Firebreather nearby lit up the cave even more. I could make out two shady looking fellows, dressed entirely in black. The monotony was broken by a huge red R on their uniform.

"Team Rocket?" Will cried. "They were disbanded years ago!"

"Hehe! Not anymore. Now we're bringing it back!"

The two brought out a Rattatta and a Zubat.

"Really?" I said, utterly disappointed.

"Chicky! Use magical leaf!"

"Total! Watergun!"

The attacks quickly knocked out the weaker duo. They ran away, although they gave us the necessary prize money, which criminals likely wouldn't do. We helped the girl out of the cave.

"Thank you! My name is Lana! My Grandpa, Kurt, lives in Azalea Town. I'll show you the rest of the way!" She smiled at us and pointed down the road. "That's the way! Follow the path."

"Thanks, Lana!" I said happily. We waved as she ran down the path.

After gathering Apricorns, we walked down the road as she had instructed. We came across a clearing that lead into Azalea Town.

"Wow, Will! Look!" I pointed out to the small town.

"It's a lot like home, isn't it…?"

We stood there in the entrance near Rainmaker Well, and observed our surroundings with excitement. That is, until an unpleasantly familiar face made its way out of the Pokemart. I recognized everything: The sickly sweet voice, the scheming gray eyes, and the bouncing braided buns tied below her head.

Kate had arrived on the scene.

I did the first thing I could think of: Hide. I grabbed Will's hand and whispered through gritted teeth: "Stay as quiet. As. Possible." He gave me the thumbs-up.

That's when I heard something I hoped I wouldn't:

"Oh, a Chikorita and a Totodile? How rare! I don't need one, and besides, they're weak. Oh well, Inferno needs a bit more experience before he levels up." Inferno being what I guessed was now a Typhlosion.

"Inferno, I want to make this quick, okay? You charge up Sacred Fire while I look for a Protein for you, okay?" The way she said this, as though she was rewarding a small animal for correctly performing a trick, scared me to no end. I dashed across the clearing while her back was turned, and grabbed Chicky up. I had expected Will to follow me, however, he didn't. I saw him mouth to me, "Are you nuts?"

I called to Total, "Come on!"

Naturally, Kate heard me,

"Oh, Sissy! I didn't think Mom would let you come! Come on out!" Her voice was dripping with false welcoming. I saw Will come out from behind the bush.

"Oh, that was me! Don't I do a great impression of Mimi?"

Kate started laughing at him. "Oh, I'm even more surprised that your Dad would let you come! Haha! Doesn't he need someone to take him to the therapist's?"

"Shut. Up." I said, walking out from the hollow. Total ran to defend Will. Togii popped out of my bag. I got a better look at Kate. She was about 19 now, and certainly looked like a young adult. Her yellow top was getting a bit tight, and she had tried to cover it with a blue and black plaid vest with a fuzzy hood. Her blue jeans looked fairly new. She also wore a necklace with a diamond on it. I instinctively touched the square I wore around my neck. Her braids were tied up under her head in twin buns, as always. She laughed out loud when she saw me. "I really didn't think that Chikorita had a trainer! It looked so weak." I could tell by the look in her eyes, that she was testing how far she could go. "I'll bet you only got your first badge by… mmm, no, you're incapable of that, too! Ha!"

"I got the Zephyr badge, fair and square." I offered little more than that; I figured if I let her have her fun, she would get bored and walk away. A crowd was gathering, I felt my ears burning, I heard them saying, "They must be related," or "She looks tough!"

Finally, I saw what looked like a walking net break through the crowd. Finally, with an annoyed sounding, "let me through!"


	4. Chapter 4: Vs Slowbro!

A/N: Lots of dialogue this time around. Hope you all enjoy this chapter, I'm on a roll today! I'm really excited, things will start going a lot faster now, so sorry to anyone that likes slower-paced Fics. Also, the past chapters have been taking place over the course of a few days, as can be seen below. Please enjoy!

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><p>A boy, not much older than me, popped his head out of the crowd. He had purple hair that reminded me of my cousin, Maya's, but his was much messier. "Break it up! Gym leader, coming through!" He said, as the crowd slowly parted.<p>

"Kate, I don't know how much I've told you, no fighting near Rainmaker Well! We have more important things to do than destroy our history! What am I saying? You don't even live here anymore." He scolded. His voice was childish but had a surprisingly mature tone to it. Kate, however, didn't seem intimidated by his authority.

"Hmph! Fine, I'll leave for a few days. However, I wish you luck getting Team Rocket out of here without me." She sniffed. "Later." I recognized that tone- she had used it whenever she was trying to get out of trouble.

She turned around and walked out of town, her head held high. Inferno had followed closely, adoringly, behind her.

"Sorry, I haven't properly introduced myself. Bugsy, the 'Walking Bug-type Encyclopedia!'" He smiled. "Pleased to meet you!" He shook my hand, then introduced himself to Will in the same manner.

"I'm Mimi, and this is Will." I said, pleased by the fact that he wasn't always angry at something.

"These are Total, my Totodile, Chicky, Mimi's Chikorita, and her Togepi, Togii." At the various introductions, the Pokemon did something to show they recognized their names: Total danced a bit, Chicky swung the leaf on his head around, and Togii rolled around a little.

"How cute! You're raising your Togepi well. It just hatched, right? It's already level 8. That's great!" He petted Togii on the head and it chirped happily.

"Your Totodile looks like it's in great condition! Are you going to be entering the contest in Goldenrod next week? You should consider it!" Total seemed a bit surprised by this praise. It looked away and looked sort of shy.

"As much as I'd like to battle you all right now, I don't think it's such a good idea." He finally said, after Total had stopped being nervous. Chicky looked shocked and Togii fell over in shock. "Sorry, but I really can't. Team Rocket locked me out, and I only have my Butterfree. Kurt, the PokeBall maker, used to be the most powerful trainer in town. He already went down the well to get back the Slowpoke that live here, but we haven't seen him since this morning." His voice trailed off.

"Hey, Bugsy, right?" I said. "I know why they're taking the Slowpoke." I explained to the horrible thing that Team Rocket was trying to sell. "I don't know why they need to sell this, but it definitely is not a good thing!"

Bugsy's face fell. I heard him whispering vaguely, something that sounded like, "They can't do this…"

"Can I trust you all?" He finally said. "To back me up? I'll go look for the key. You all look for the guy behind this, okay?"

I nodded. I heard Will say, "Of course we'll help!"

I knew why: Will's mother owned a Slowpoke, and she had lost it to a Pokemon Swindler who promised to make it stronger. Ever since that day, he and his father had sworn that if someone else had their Pokemon taken from them, then they would take them back. Unfortunately, his family had begun to fall apart and his father wasn't exactly in the best mental state: Sometimes he and his sister would have to try nearly everything to get him to go to work. Will had told me that as soon as he could, he wanted to go on his journey- before he couldn't leave home. I knew that he was worried about his family. I could tell from the way he said "Of course".

We proceeded through the ramps. Bugsy took a rope ladder from his backpack and hooked it onto the side of the Rainmaker Well. We climbed down it carefully, being sure not to slip on the damp ground.

"Watch your step." Bugsy said as he removed the ladder from the side. We looked around, and finally, it occurred to me that we needed some sort of light source. "How can we see?" Will echoed my thoughts.

"No problem!" Bugsy pointed to a nearby Staryu. "These have bioluminescence, like some bugs. So…" He used stun spore on it, then threw a level ball at it. "There!" He let it out and healed it using a berry. "Now it can show us the way." He asked it to take him to Team Rocket. It lit up the dank tunnel ahead. As we walked ahead carefully, we heard the blinking of water as it formed stalagmites and stalactites and the sounds of a faraway battle. "It's called Rainmaker Well because a lot of Slowpoke live here. It's said that whenever a Slowpoke yawns, rain is sure to follow." We turned several corners in the dank caves, being careful not to bother the wild Pokemon not already disturbed. We entered a huge cave. There was a man wearing a thick forest green coat. He had a Slowking standing in front of him, fainted. There was a tall man wearing a Team Rocket uniform, but he wore it much more proudly than those two gunts we had defeated before. It took only a moment to realize that he was likely a much higher trainer class than them. I didn't have to wonder for a few moments before I heard him say, in a deep, angry-sounding voice, "Honestly! I don't care how tough you are, but did you really think you could beat Team Rocket Admin Proton?"

The other man, who I guessed was Kurt, nodded. "The least I could do was weaken your team a bit. Then, maybe, Bugsy could defeat you…"

"All his Pokemon are in the gym still! Right, Robert?" He glared at a rather mousy-looking grunt.

"Y-yeah, boss!" He had a squeaky voice to match his appearance.

I became aware of Bugsy talking. I quickly turned my attention away from the humiliation.

"This place is way too crowded with Grunts. I can't make Free take on all of these guys. It'd be horrible. Listen, Mimi. I need your help. Your Togepi is a very rare Pokemon. I know it's a lot to ask, but… Can you have him walk into the clearing? While they're battling it, I'll have Free use Sleep Powder, and then we can get the key back, okay?"

"Togii, can you do it?" I asked it. It nodded determinedly. "Okay, Bugsy. But how will we go after Proton?"

"Not quite sure. We can't wait much longer. There are grunts all over town. They rotate positions- they switch off at noon. Which one of you is tougher?" Bugsy responded. "Normally, I don't believe in levels, but here, we need all the power we can get."

Will and I nodded. "Will has his Marill that he's been with for a long time." I offered.

"You've got your Chicky. And Sora." Will said in my favor. "Togii will be used in the plan, and Minu is out of the question…"

"Minu? A Minun? Yeah, they can be tough to train." Bugsy said. "Two each, huh?" He looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Which one of you feels more confident?"

Without hesitating a second, Will stood up and said, "I'll fight them."

"Okay, when Free flies out, cover your mouth until you see all of them fall asleep, okay?" I whispered to Togii. It nodded, understanding the plan.

"Okay, go!" The tiny egg tottered into the cavern. It cried out confusedly- but a little too obvious it was acting. However, the grunts fell for it and went after it. "Free! Go, now!" Kurt had been making his way across the clearing and Proton had put his Pokemon away. The only ones affected would be the grunts and Togii, if all went well. Thankfully, it did, and Togii didn't fall asleep. Kurt gave us the thumbs up and said, "Go for it, kids!" The three of us ran to the platform as fast as we can. Togii leaped into my arms and we all said, "Give it up!"

Proton laughed in our faces. He started to talk, but I raised my hand to stop him. Togii understood exactly what was going on, and stood with a determined expression in front of me. "I've been laughed at a little too much today, sir." I narrowed my eyes as I glared at him. "Oh, sorry…" I was a little surprised as Togii began to glow brightly as a Weezing, Slowbro, and a Zubat appeared in front of Proton. I was vaguely aware of Total and Free appearing nearby. "You don't deserve such formalities!" Togii made a strange cry- something like a scream- and a huge wave of energy came out of a small cirlcle that had appeared in front of it. It knocked out the three Pokemon in an instant.

"Y-You'll regret this!" Proton grunted as he ran from the platform. He called out another Zubat and flew out of the cavern. All of the grunts followed him, making their way out.

"What happened to Togii?" I asked, scared to death for the poor thing. It had fallen over and was now quietly making puffing noises, trying to catch its breath.

"Roar of Time." Bugsy said, utterly shocked. "It can only mean one thing- something's been set into motion."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean that Roar of Time is a legendary move. Only the Dragon of Time, Dialga can use it. I've never seen a Togepi use it, even when Metronome is used. And I've battled lots and lots of trainers! You wouldn't happen to have any connection to a legendary Pokemon or anything, would you?" I shook my head. "Oh… Well, sorry for bothering you. It's probably just some really good luck."

"Can we battle you now?" Will asked, exasperated.

"Sure, but you all should get your Pokemon healed first." He threw the ladder up into the air once we reached the edge. It hooked onto the edge and Kurt climbed up first. He was followed by Will, and I went up third. Bugsy followed behind me, and he pulled up the ladder.

"There you are!" Bugsy said. "The Pokemon center is just around the corner. Come when you're ready!" He took his net, which was leaning on the edge of the well, and walked back to the gym, Free following him. Kurt muttered something that sounded like, "I'm too old for things like this!"

"Sir, you can make a Pokeball, right?" I asked, trying to break the silence.

"Yes, out of Apricorns. I'll make them out of other things, but not for free…"

"Really! Could you make it out of this?" I handed him the crystal I had gotten from Minu.

"Hah! Young lady, do you know what this is?"

"No…"

"It's a Shiny Stone! Once that Togepi of yours evolves, it will evolve it!"

"Will it evolve it even as a Pokeball?"

"Yes, but you'll have to wait for another evolution first! And it will take some time. Since it will be hollowed out, then it's potency is somewhat lost."

I was so happy- finally, a Pokeball for Togii! We walked to a Pokemon center, leaving the stone and 300 Poke with Kurt. At the door, Will stopped suddenly.

"Won't it take him some time to make that thing? They said it would take a day to make one out of an Apricorn."

"I suppose that's true." I fished around in my backpack for the camping supplies, and I saw that Will was doing the same. "If you'll pitch the tents, I'll go heal the Pokemon." I said.

"Deal! It won't take too long at all!"

"Will, it's been two hours. Can't we go get help now?"

"No way! I've almost got it- AUGH!" The tent he had been trying to put up- the same one he had been trying to work with for the past few hours- fell down on him. The nurse had been looking at us amusedly, but she seemed to have gotten bored, as she walked outside.

"Excuse me? Umm, there are rooms at the Pokemon Center." She said.

Will nearly fell over as I started laughing. "Y-you're kidding me. Mimi!"

"A-ack! Sorry!"

We were assigned a room with two bunkbeds, facing Ilex Forest. I sat in the Bay Window, writing in my journal. I looked at the entry from the previous days:

June 3rd,

Got my first Pokemon! Nicknamed it Chicky. Traveled to Cherrygrove. Got attacked by a Rattata. Got an egg! Went to Cherrygrove again. Battled my very first battle! Went home.

June 4th,

Traveled to Violet City! There was a weird girl there. Leveled up a lot! Got lost in (Union Cave had been scratched out and written above, "Dark Cave")Dark Cave. Met with Prof. Elm. Got a Pokedex! Battled Ivan again. Egg hatched! A Togepi nicknamed Togii. Met Falkner, Gym Leader! (He's nice!) Caught first ever Pokemon, Sora, a Hoothoot! Caught a Rattata! Went to Ruins of Alph. Camp outside.

June 5th,

Went to Sprout Tower! Got Rock Smash. Challenged Falkner! Got the Zephyr badge! Traveled to Union Cave Pokemon Center. No rooms here. Camp outside.

June 6th,

Went through Union cave. Battled Team Rocket Grunts! Found Kate… (ugh.) Almost battled her, but she got kicked out. Got the Gym Key back! Battled Proton! Met Gym Leader Bugsy. (I hope we can be friends.) Got to stay in the Pokemon Center!

As I wrote the last word, I worried about my Gym challenge tomorrow. Will had long since fell asleep, and I heard him snoring loudly from the top bunk on the right side. I turned off my book lamp and climbed the ladder into the bunk on the left. Chicky was already under the blanket, and Togii got brought up by Sora. I heard Togii snoring lightly as I drifted off to sleep in a warm bed for the first time in days…


	5. Chapter 5: Vs Scizor!

A/N: I DON'T OWN TIK TOK, FOLKS 8D

Also, sorry for the very serious content later on, so please don't laugh at my epic fail drama writing. And as for the Gym Battles, believe me, they will be getting more accurate soon.

Please read and review! (I REALLY need the contructive criticism with Alyssa. -_-)

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><p>I woke up to Will singing abnormally loudly. That's when I realized he was standing on the ladder, staring at me, looking fairly annoyed. "WAKE UP IN THE MORNING FEELING LIKE ." I opened my eyes and stared at him blankly. "GRAB MY GLASSES IM OUT THE DOOR IM GONNA HIT THIS CITY." I turned my head so he knew I was awake now. "BEFORE I LEAVE BRUSH MY TEETH WITH A BOTTLE A- ow." I had hit him in the face with my pillow. Laughing, I said, "Shut up! Every time I slept over as a kid, you did that!"<p>

"I know, but it's so much more fun than just saying, 'Mimi, wake up! Please…?'"

I jumped down from the top bunk, stirring Chicky and Sora. Togii was already awake and had tumbled to the floor along with Will. I ran into the bathroom and changed quickly. Will was making a valiant effort to turn his sweater into a jacket. He didn't have the patience to sew the zipper on properly, though.

"First of all, Will, you need to cut the front out." I pointed out that a slit needed to be cut.

"Nah! I don't want to ruin it."

"Then what's the point? We've got some Gym badges to win!"

"Actually, about that. I wanted to go back to Violet today and battle Falkner. I'll catch up with you later, okay?"

My face fell and I said to him, "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, You've got your own Gym challenge today." He smiled. "I'll catch a bird Pokemon and try to fly there."

"Will! You can't fly until you have the Cianwood City badge, right?"

"Hehe!" He pulled a trainer case out of his pocket. Inside stood the bage, shiny and new. "H-how did you?"

"I got a Pokemon from Dad. This will be my second!"

"Great job! I'm happy for you!"

"I'll miss you! Good luck!" He opened the door and left. I waved to him until I saw him fly away.

I walked out into the sunlight, followed by my Pokemon. I smiled at the clouds in the sky, and at the Slowpoke wandering the town. I walked over to Kurt's house and knocked on the door. There was a shout of "I'm coming" and a few moments later, the door opened. "Oh, Mimi! Your Pokeball is ready!" He walked back inside and found a small, crystalline orb. "This one's it." I took the ball from him and looked at it. It reflected the sunlight and turned my hand the colors of the rainbow. "It's beautiful…" I whispered. The only thing missing was a square sticker on it, but I would have to do that on my own time. "Thank you so much, Kurt!" I called to Togii, and finally, it had its own Pokeball. I looked at it happily through the translucent shell of it.

I proceeded ahead, stretching on my way to the gym. It was a fairly normal walk until an old cowboy appeared in the corner of my vision. I turned to look at him. There was a Ponyta that just wouldn't calm down.

"Sir, are you all right?" I finally asked.

"Oh, no! Darn it all, she just won't listen!" He responded. The Ponyta was jumping and neighing. "Blaze, calm down!"

"I could train her."

"Now, now, girly, I can't let you do that! She's a tough one, she is. You'd hurt yourself."

"I'm stronger than I look! I can handle a Ponyta!"

"Well, then, in that case… Follow me."

He began to walk towards the Pokemon Center.

"Got a name?"

"Mimi. You?"

"John. Got a Pokemon to trade me?"

"I'm sorry, it's just a Rattata, but it's a tough guy."

He chuckled before replying, "Fair enough."

After I retrieved Ratty from the PC Box, I proceeded to an odd machine.

"This here's a Trading Machine. Put one Pokeball on each side, and you've traded."

I put Ratty's Pokeball under the chute. I watched as the two Pokemon silhouettes pass by each other, and a Great Ball fell onto my end of the chute.

"Her name's Blaze. If you can tame her, you won't have to give her back. Here's my Pokegear number, call me if ya can't take it." He took Ratty's Pokeball. "Don't you worry, Mimi. I'll take good care of him."

I smiled at the man as he let the small mouse out. It chattered at him. It seemed to like him much better than me.

I waited until I was outside to let out Blaze. I pressed the button on the blue and red orb and the horse shot out in a blaze of red light. Before it could run, I jumped onto its back and grabbed the reins.

"Steady!" I yelled. A small crowd had gathered. I held on tight- but the flames on its mane became intensely hot and I fell off. I grabbed the ball it was in, and returned it. As soon as I got it back, I let it out again. I repeated this process until it finally became accustomed to me and allowed me to ride without burning me. Allowed me to, that is, but did not make riding any easier. It bucked and jumped and would not stay still. I fell off, but this time, it didn't run. Three hours had passed since I had gotten her from the man, but the idea of returning her hadn't registered. I leaped back on, and said. "Stay." She remained perfectly still. Everyone around cheered as I rode in a circle.

I returned Blaze to her Pokeball and called the man to tell him of my progress. I then proceeded to Azalea Gym and rode the various beetle cars around until I found my way to Bugsy.

"You made it, huh? Thanks again for helping us all out yesterday. That was a tough situation, huh? Well, you ready to battle? I won't hold back!"

The floor we stood on was added to, and soon, we had a full-on arena around us. The trees that surrounded us were crawling with bug-types, and it slowly began to rain. The drops pattered on the glass roof, and it created a perfect staccato beat.

The referee called for the battle to begin.

Free was first, and it acted with little input from Bugsy. It flew forward and launched stun spore all around. It was a trap, I knew. I decided to take a chance and bring out Blaze first. "Ember, go! Sorry, Free." Flames shot from Blaze's mane, and it rammed into the Butterfree. It shivered and landed.

"No hard feelings, okay?" I said to Bugsy.

"Worse has definitely been done." He said, calling back his Butterfree. But then, Blaze froze in place. I recognized the signs of Paralysis, but I didn't want to call Blaze back just yet.

"Scyther, go!" The huge, green, dragon-like creature growled as it unleashed its huge, sword-like arms.

"Silver wind, go!" The scales flew off of it and glided swiftly towards Blaze.

I was shocked at how little HP it had.

"Sorry, Blaze, but you're already hurt." I called her back. Next was Chicky. He used return this time before I could say anything- but I was glad. It went much quicker than I had hoped- Only about half of Scyther's HP was left. It used X-Scissor- something I had not anticipated, and it looked very painful.

"Chicky, are you oka-!"

A huge, bright light was emanating from Chicky. It slowly grew in size- its neck elongated, the spikes on its neck grew into leaves, the leaf on its head grew, and the burn from the battle with Ivan grew in size- And Chicky had turned into a Bayleef!

I pulled my Pokedex out of my pocket to check its moves- Return, Magical Leaf, Earthquake, and Tackle. Just in time, Scyther landed.

"Earthquake, go!"

I soon regretted it. The entire building shook violently as Chicky pounded on the floor of the gym. I lost my footing and fell. Bugsy tried to steady himself on his net, but he was shaking too. Finally, it stopped. The Scyther had tried to escape the shaking by floating a few inches in the air, but it wasn't high enough- it was drained enough for Bugsy to call it back.

"All right! Scizor! I choose you!"

The next Pokemon appeared to be an evolved form of Scyther (I was right). It used X-scissor too, and Chicky tried its best to hold its ground. I called it back to use it later. Next was Sora. I didn't want another occurance like last time, so I told it to simply use peck. It was effective, and it did a good amount of damage. Scizor used X-scissor yet again, and this time, though, it took out Sora. I called on Chicky again, who used magical leaf. This did enough damage to slow it down considerably.

"Okay, Return, now!"

"Take Down!"

The two collided in midair, and they both landed backwards, facing each other.

It happened so fast that if you blinked, you would think it was a draw.

Scizor fell first. Then, as though relieved, Chicky fell. The ref held up the red flag. The one on my side of the gym.

"Chicky!" I ran to the Bayleef. Bugsy ran to the Scizor in the center of the court.

"Thank you! That was amazing!" Bugsy said, shaking my hand. After I stood up, I realized that he had placed the Hive badge in my hand.

"Wow! Thank you!"

"That lets you use cut. You know that the Zephyr badge lets you use Rock Smash, right?"

"Yeah! Thanks a lot!"

"Here, this is cut. You won't find it easily otherwise." He handed me a disk marked, "Cut". "I don't need it, I can fly with Free."

"Thank you very much!" I left the gym, thinking about Will. He might just be battling Falkner right now.

"I hope you do well." I thought to myself. I let Togii out of the Pokeball again, and pressed a button on the disk for Rock Smash. Togii looked up at me, and I selected on my Pokedex- "Forget charm." The Pokedex then brought up a screen that said, "Learned Rock Smash!" I repeated the process with Chicky and cut.

"Let's go through Ilex forest now!" I said happily. I walked towards the gate, when Ivan appeared.

"Hmph. There you are again…" He grumbled.

"And that's a bad thing?" Okay, I'll admit- I did kinda like him.

"Not necessarily. If I lose again, it is."

"Sorry to disappoint you!"

I brought out Blaze, and he brought out a Gastly.

"Use ember!"

"Ominous wind, go!"

The ember got caught up in the wind, and Blaze shuddered. She seemed on much less stable legs now.

"Okay, um… Take down!"

Blaze ran ahead at top speed.

"Gasp, dodge it and use lick!"

I nearly fell over.

"Gasp? You named it Gasp?"

"What of it? Get back to the battle."

"Gasp's" speed wasn't as much as he had hoped, and the attack hit.

We both called back our Pokemon.

"Go! Sora!"

"Zoom, you're up next!"

The Zubat that was named Zoom appeared.

"Bite!"

"Peck!"

The two attacks met in mid-air and they both fell from the air. The attempt at causing damage did not work well…

"Er, maybe this isn't the best idea, Ivan…"

"Yeah." He looked away, a bit nervous. "We're not supposed to battle in town…"

"Are you going to Goldenrod, too? You can come with me."

And so we set off for Goldenrod together.

We proceeded through Ilex forest. Every so often, I would notice something interesting and point it out. However, Ivan did not seem amused. He just looked at me, a bit annoyed, and said, "I'm not a child." However, he did seem interested, betraying his annoyed façade. I asked Chicky to cut down the tiny tree in front of us, and we proceeded towards a clearing where a large shrine sat. I noticed two familiar faces praying in front of it.

"Maya? Alyssa?" I said, surprised.

Maya sat up first. Her light blue eyes were twinkling and her short purple hair looked good. She wore a linen, sea-foam green dress with a pink stripe across the middle. A large pink bow was attached to the front, and pink straps attached the front to the back. She looked very girly, except for the fact that her black leggings were ripped in places and the fact that she wore combat boots. It was quite a contrast, but it looked good on her.

"Mimi! You look great!" She said, standing up. "I haven't seen you in so long. You're thirteen now, huh?"

"Yeah! I'm really glad to see you, too!" I said. I had realized her embarrassment at speaking so loudly in the first statement, she had quieted down to her usual, calm self in the latter.

Alyssa was next. She looked better than she had when I had seen her in the Union room. Her hair was neatly combed, and her gray eyes had a bit more life in them now. Her jacket was stitched up where it had been ripped and was no longer stained. Her beret was gone now, and her pants and shoes looked clean and new. Her saddened expression hadn't left her, though.

"How are you?" I finally asked.

"Better. I take it you got the Zephyr badge?"

I response, I pulled out my trainer case.

"Two badges? Already? That's good. But don't push your Pokemon too hard. Train a lot before you battle Whitney. Got it?"

I was a bit taken aback. Alyssa had always been very outgoing and kind. I don't know what happened, but there was something that she was hiding from me.

"Alyssa." Maya finally said. "You should tell her."

"Maya, I really don't think I should. I don't want her to- fine."

She asked me to sit and told Ivan to leave if he wanted to. He, however, sat too.

* * *

><p>It was a normal day as any other. I went to Snowpoint city to train. I had brought my twin starters with me. Snowball was still a Piplup and a female. She had an unusual coloring, and I had found her more skilled at contests than battling, but today, I had decided to train her for a battle. All was going well, she had gained a lot of levels, when I got a call from Professor Rowan.<p>

"Alyssa! Come quickly! Team Galactic is coming- they're going to steal the Pokemon you caught for my research!"

I knew what that meant. I had been battling Team Galactic often throughout my journey. I had battled the Elite Four and Champion, so I thought that this would be no problem for me. However, I was not anticipating that Cyrus himself had arrived.

I had put Snowball deep inside my bag, to protect her, and took Glam from the box. Her fury swipes would come in handy.

I was surprised at how easily Cyrus defeated me. Even Icicle barely stood a chance. Then, Jupiter sent her Arbok at me.

A loud pop had called my attention to the fact that Snowball had broken out of her Pokeball. She stood bravely in front me. However, Arbok had rammed into her, and since Jupiter had had full intentions of getting rid of me, Snowball cried out in pain. I kicked the Arbok and grabbed Snowball from it. I screamed when I saw her. She looked so pale and weak. They left, now that this had happened, so I revived Star and leaped onto its talons and it flew us to Snowpoint city. I ran into the Pokemon center and Snowball was growing weaker with every step.

"Hang in there!" I said. I was crying now, I hoped I could clearly convey what had happened to the nurse…

She saw me come in, but she screamed when she saw poor Snowball. She called all the nurses and doctors. Thankfully, the center was deserted. The only person in here was Candice using the video phone to talk to Volkner.

"Alyssa, go do something else, to get your mind off it." The nurse said, her face grave. I figured there was no point in arguing, so I just walked away and went upstairs. I saw that Mimi's face was on the screen. Next to it, a small sign of text said, "Location: Violet City."

I knew that was where the flying-type gym leader lived, so I grabbed Minu out of the PC and headed to the Union Room. I walked in and waited as the now-familiar feeling of the virtual reality machine began. I stood in a corner of the room, awaiting Mimi's recognition.

"Alyssa?" I heard her say. I turned my attention to her, and tried to smile. I realized then that I was crying. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I lied, wiping my eyes. "Nothing. It's nothing." Big. Fat. Lie. "I lost a few battles, and a contest didn't go so well." Not entirely a lie.

"Oh. Well would you like to draw a picture?" She held out the sketchpad given to everyone upon entrance.

"No, thanks."

I knew that I looked sad, so I just said, "…Would you mind leaving me alone?"

"S-sorry."

"Never mind. I'm sorry. Where are you?"

"Violet city. You?"

"Snowpoint City. You already beat the gym challenge there, right?"

"Non, not yet."

"Here, you'll need this." I handed her Minu's Pokeball. "That's Minu. He'll help you out."

"Why? Isn't it a high level?"

"Yeah, but… It's an electric type. There aren't many of those in Johto, right?"

"Don't you need another P"

"No!" I cut me off and instantly felt bad about it. "Go away."

I watched her walk away, dejectedly, onto the panel. I followed soon after.

As soon as I left, the nurse that had greeted me before woke me up. Her face was even more serious than before. "Snowball, she-!" I leaped up and ran as fast as I possibly could to the room where Snowball was being treated. I took the tiny flipper in my hand.

"We've already called your friends, and Cynthia will be here any minute now." Candice said. "I truly am very sorry." She started crying. "T-there's no way…"

I took Snowball's Pokeball.

"I want her to be free. If she will die, I want her to die free!" I pressed the release button on the Pokeball, and threw it to the ground. It shattered into many pieces. Candice put her hand on my shoulder. The rhythmic beeping of the machine quieted to a single, low beep.

It was all I could do to not break down crying. Icicle had broken out of his Pokeball and was standing there next to me.

There was nothing. I couldn't believe it. If only I had been stronger… If only she had evolved… If only I had believed in her strengths…

But no amount of "If only"'s could bring her back.

Later, I was standing outside the Lost Tower, as Cynthia said, "What will you do now?" She motioned for me to sit, and she sat down next to me.

"Do you know why I wear these ribbons?"

I shook my head.

"When I was little, my first Pokemon was a Lucario. But he died, and now, I wear these ribbons that look like the fur spikes on his head to remember him by. Here." She handed me a blue hood with two drawstrings ending in white pompoms. It matched my jacket perfectly.

"It's a Piplup hood… I bought it for you as a gift. They didn't have a shiny version, though… Sorry."

I looked at it with as much happiness as I could handle. "Thank you…"

I later got a special pendant from Professor Rowan, and I am now one of the researchers of legends.

* * *

><p>Sorry for the sudden seriousness in this one, I'll be sure to make the next chapter more amusing.<p>

If anyone's interested, I'll talk about the whole Icicle/Snowball thing in the next A/N.


	6. Chapter 6: Vs Mightyena!

Alyssa looked angry at me when she saw that I was crying.

"What are you doing?" She said, as though defending herself.

"I-it's so sad." I whimpered. "How can you not cry?" Even Ivan looked unsettled. Maya was looking away from all of us.

"I don't want sympathy. You don't need to look away and feel sorry for me. If you're going to act like this, I'll just go to Goldenrod city myself!" She stood up and began to walk across the clearing.

"Alyssa. Stop." Maya said. Her voice was kind but firm. "I shouldn't have asked you to tell them. I'm sorry."

"Do you think that Snowball will forgive me-!"

"I know she would have. Why do you think she leapt in the way of the Arbok?"

"I suppose… But I still can't…"

Maya strode to where she was standing and put her hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. Let's go, okay?" She pulled a Pokeball from her belt-pack and threw it into the air. "Let's go, Rhine!" A huge Rhyhorn appeared. "Everyone, get on." She climbed onto the back of the creature and took the reins. Alyssa jumped onto the side, and She helped pull me up onto the other side. Ivan said that he'd walk. I waved until he was out of sight.

Once we were out onto the muddy route ahead, Maya stopped Rhine. She turned around and said, "Sooooo… Who's your boyfriend?"

"Eh?"

"That boy back there. He was pretty cute."

"S-shut up!"

"Hahaha! I'm just kidding." She jerked the reins and Rhine kept walking. We turned some corners, and no one stopped to battle us. Rhine was definitely not the most fun thing to ride- I understood why Maya's leggings were ripped. I changed the way I was sitting, imitating the way Maya stood on the spikes and rested on the edge of the plate armor, and found that was much more comfortable than anything else.

"HEY! Watch out!" I heard Will's voice yell from behind us. He was riding a Fearow, the same one I presume his father had given to him.

"Maya! Look out!" Alyssa jumped from her spot, pulling Maya with her. I leaped off Rhine and grabbed hold of a spike. I called out Togii and had it use Rock Smash on the bird to lure it down. It landed calmly and began to peck at Togii. I returned it to its Pokeball before damage could be done.

"Thanks! I don't know what came over it, but it just started freaking out!"

Maya popped her head up from the other side of Rhine.

"Sorry! In areas that Pokemon like Rhine aren't native, the wild Pokemon around get scared." She explained. She looked more at Will before saying his name like a question. He nodded with a confused expression on your face.

"Oh, HE'S your boyfriend, right? Right?" Maya said, nudging me. Maya was my oldest cousin, and as such, knew plenty of silly things I had done as a child. One of which was one of those childish mannerisms where you say you want to marry your best friend of the opposite gender. Will went bright red and said, "No way! S-she's not interested in me. Besides, I have to say that the Goldenrod City gym leader, Whitney, is really cute…" As he said this, he trailed off and looked up happily. Will had posters of all the Johto gym leaders in his room, but he had several of Whitney from various training magazines. I never quite understood why, but he just liked her best.

We all got back on Rhine and rode . Now that Total, Marill (Now nicknamed "Bubble"), and the Fearow were resting, we could continue. We came up a hill and Will said, "Stop! Hold on a second!" He jumped off and ran up to the top.

"Grandpa! Hey!" He yelled, and an old man came up to the crest of the hill. He greeted Will warmly, and I recognized him from past trips here. He and his wife ran a Pokemon Day Care. Ever since his mother had her Slowpoke stolen, they wanted to have a place where trainers could leave their Pokemon in a safe environment where they can grow and become strong. Due to the huge, fenced-in area, they had plenty of area to roam. I waved to him. When I first met him, I had had no clue how to address him and his wife. They told me to just call them "Grandpa and Grandma." I leaped off Rhine and ran up to join them. Grandpa addressed me, looking me up and down before hugging me. "You've both grown so much! I'm so proud!" Grandma came up the hill, saying, "Robert, what's the fuss?" When she saw us she looked at both of us and said the same thing. He laughed to ourselves as Alyssa and Maya came up the hill.

"Shall we have a look at your Pokemon?" Grandma asked. I nodded and called everyone out of their Pokeballs. Togii, Chicky, Minu, Blaze, and Sora. Total, Bubble, and the Fearow were next. Maya and Alyssa brought out their teams, too. Alyssa's team was made up of an Empoleon, (whom I guessed was Icicle, from the story) a Glaceon, a Luxray, a Glameow, a Staraptor, and a Bibarel. Maya's team consisted of a Swampert, a Swellow, a Mightyena, (who stayed very close to Maya and pushed away any other Pokemon that tried to get close,) Rhine, a Pikachu, and a Skitty.

Grandma looked at each of them closely before saying, "Please, introduce me!" I decided to go first. "This is my team! Chicky is my starter, a Chikorita. Togii is a Pokemon hatched from an egg," At this, Will pulled the magenta egg from his backpack. Alyssa and Maya looked at it with interest, but didn't say a word. "and Sora is my very first Pokemon. Minu is from Maya, I think?" At Maya's name, Minu ran back towards Maya, only to be growled at by the Mightyena. "Finally, this is Blaze! She was traded to me from a Cowboy."Will went next: "This is my dad's Fearow, Row, and this is my first Pokemon and best Pokepal, Bubble! Also, this is my Totodile, Total." Total leaped up onto his head, eager for recognition. Maya raised a pink-gloved hand to go next. "Umm… These are my Pokemon. This is the first Pokemon I ever caught: Mighty, a Mightyena, and this is my starter, Swampy, a Swampert... Also, my Pikachu, Pika, my Swellow, Swell, and my Skitty, Kitty. You've already met Rhine." She gestured to each Pokemon as she spoke. Her voice was quivering, and she was blushing, although she seemed very happy to show off her team to a couple that rose Pokemon for a living.

Alyssa was the only one left.

"T-this is my Empoleon, Icicle. He had a twin, but… Something happened to her…" Her voice became very said, and Maya whispered, "You can do this, Alyssa." She gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. "Go on."

She lifted her head and her voice became much more like the Alyssa I knew, before she had fought her way through the Sinnoh Pokemon League, before Snowball had passed… She sounded truly alive. "This is Glacier, my Glaceon! I had a hard time evolving it, but it was worth it. And Shinku, a Luxray. She was my very first Pokemon that I caught. This is Glam, my Glameow. My friend Roy traded her to me. Also, the second Pokemon I caught, Star, my Staraptor!" She finished on a high note, and looked at the couple hopefully. Grandma gave each Pokemon a thorough investigation. When she was done, she asked Will and I to battle Maya and Alyssa, contest-style.

"They're certainly fit to enter, but I'd like to see how you handle them." She said, showing us to a field where we could battle. "Choose your Pokemon, please." Maya chose Mighty, as I had expected. Glam was Alyssa's choice. I chose Sora. Will chose Bubble, which did not surprise me much.

"Okay! Begin!"

Alyssa made the first move.

"Glam! Assist!" The purple cat raced forward at a breakneck pace. She leaped into the air, paws glowing. She swung her left paw, and ended up using faint attack. She swooped forward, drawing up to Sora without apparent intent of attack. However, it suddenly tackled it with a huge amount of power.

Maya proceeded to say, "Mighty, use Assurance!" The wolf-like Pokemon ran forward, just as swiftly. It swiped at Total. Though it missed, it swirled around, landing gracefully on the grass.

"Okay, Sora! Let's go! Swooping drill peck!" Sora flew up into the air, and with a graceful pirouette, it turned at a 45 degree angle and rammed into Mighty, before swirling back and landing on its talons in fifth position. Bubble used, of all moves, water gun. It swirled in midair while using it, and slowed the amount of water used when not facing Glam or Mighty. We went on for several turns, thinking ahead, trying to stay calm, and before we knew it, we were surrounded by a small crowd. After what seemed like mere moments, Grandma held her hand up in the air. "Time!"

We stopped, (Will in mid-command,) and waited for her announcement of the winners.

"Everyone has won!" She finally said, "My opinion was right. You are all certainly prepared for the Contest! However, this one is Sinnoh rules. Visual, Dress-up, Dancing, and Acting are the appeal competitions. Hoenn rules are just Visual and Acting appeal competitions. If you were competing in the Johto or Kanto-style competitions, you would be just fine. I want you all to think creatively and make me proud!" She said with a smile on her face.

After night fell, we were staying in the guest room. Alyssa was loaning us accessories, saying, "This one works perfectly with the fur on Mighty." Or, "This would look great as an anklet." Or, "This would be cute to accentuate the ears on Bubble." Will was brushing Bubble's fur as I attempted to clean Sora's feathers. However, it seemed to be doing a good job despite my attempts. I eventually just dropped it. Maya was doing her very best to get Mighty to sit still, but the battle from earlier did not allow easy grooming. Maya had taken Grandma's statement about the back fur being a bit too long to heart and was now attempting to trim it a bit. Eventually, it stopped wiggling and allowed her to cut the ends off its mane.

As we were getting ready to sleep, Will started talking about some of the strange occurrences here.

"Yeah, ever since some guy left a ditto here, a lot of passersby think they see a new Pokemon. It tries to turn into three Pokemon at once. It's really weird. And sometimes, eggs appear-!"

Alyssa cut him off. "Eggs!" She said, obviously shocked. "They're researching it over in Sinnoh! And also, the phenomena of levels. Could I leave Icicle here? Just for a while?"

"Sure. You'll have to ask Grandpa and Grandma, but they're always thankful for people wanting their Pokemon raised.

"I might leave Kitty here for a while." Maya said. "The socialization would be good. Since it's so small, I don't like to let it out very much. Mighty doesn't help much either." She let all her Pokemon out to sleep. We all followed suit. "The contest starts in about two days. So if you all want to get the gym badge, you might have to wait. I don't know if Whitney will want to enter or not. Also, Mimi. Can I have Minu back? It'll probably want some rest." I handed her Minu's Pokeball, much to its delight. It ran over to Maya and hugged her, much to Mighty's annoyance. She put it back in the Pokeball and pressed a button on her Pokedex. With a jolt of red light and a loud POP the ball had disappeared.

"Most Pokedexes have these now. Handheld transfer systems. It was designed in joint by all of the PC Box designers." She gestured to us. If your Pokedexes have infrared sensors in the back, then they have it. We checked ours, and sure enough, there they were. "It really helps with catching Pokemon." Alyssa said. "Check out my boxes!" She proudly handed over her Pokedex. I was shocked. Not only were the boxes well organized, she had several of them nearly completely filled. There were a lot of the same, but there were huge amounts.

"These help with the Level Phenomena research back home. Unfortunately, I can't spend a lot of time with them." She sighed. "I really feel bad for some of them."

I leaned on Chicky. "Y'know, Chicky doesn't really fit you anymore. I think… Leafy? Instead?" I asked. "Leafy" nodded enthusiastically. I sat there, listening to Togii snore lightly nearby, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, I awoke to Maya, Alyssa, and Will all looking at me with goofy looks on their faces.

"WAKE UP IN THE MORNING-!" I sat up quickly and rolled my eyes. "Sorry Mimi. I told them you thought it was funny last time." Will said.

"It's okay!" I said, happy to be awake.

"Get your stuff together!" Maya said, putting Rhine back in its Pokeball. "We're traveling the last stretch of road to Goldenrod today. We're leaving just after we drop off our Pokemon."

I packed up my stuff and heard Maya and Alyssa telling Grandma to please take good care of Icicle and not to let Skitty get too dirty because she'll start crying and to please make sure that they eat all their food. I walked out into the entrance way and watched as Will gave Fearow's Pokeball to Grandma.

"I'll take great care of them all, don't you worry." Grandma said. We all gave Grandma our phone numbers should something come up, and we exited the house, waving until they were out of sight. Maya and Alyssa climbed onto Rhine, and Will and I decided to ride Blaze to Goldenrod. We soon overtook the slower pace of Rhine and ended up in Goldenrod City's bright lights much sooner than expected. I dismounted Blaze and Will fell off after the sudden stop. "Sorry!" Blaze started to jump and loudly call out. The lights had startled it, and I was attracting a small crowd trying to calm it down. Finally, I did, and the crowd dissipated, saying things like, "Wow, a country girl." A few girls that had the feeling of authority of the gym trainers in other gyms said, "Whitney was one, look at her now." I walked further into town and began the exploration. There were skyscrapers everywhere, so I checked the map on my Pokegear. Nearby, there was the Pokemon Center and a department store. Excited, I walked forward, Blaze following me close behind. Will had gone off to the Gym, probably to meet the object of his affections. I walked in through the automatic doors and looked all around me. The first floor was filled with basic Pokemart goods and food. I took a shopping basket and filled it up with a large variety of berries. I walked up the stairs into a smaller area, which I saw had a large selection of Pokemon goods, like held items. I looked around for a moment before I saw several items that not only looked nice, but according to the labels, helped with boosting type-specific moves. I picked up a Charcoal and a Miracle seed, and tried looking for something that would be beneficial for Togii and Sora. Unfortunately, I didn't see anything. Sighing, I walked up the stairs again. This floor was difficult for me to pass by- they had a ton of cute clothes! I saw a girl with bright pink pigtails looking at a really cute pink dress. There was a Miltank standing next to her, nodding approvingly. She held it up to herself, and said, "This would be nice!" Miltank nodded and mooed happily. The girl turned around after Miltank looked behind her, probably wondering who I was.

"What's up, Mil?" She saw Blaze, then looked at me. Her eyes were a pinkish violet, and she wore a white shirt with red trim and a gym badge shone on her shirt. The shirt flared out, and she was wearing denim shorts under it. I was glad that I wasn't the only one who thought striped socks were cute- she was wearing them too. She smiled at me, and asked, "You're new, huh? Who are you?" She held up a pair of socks to me, as though looking to see if they would look good.

"My name's Mimi. This is Blaze. It's nice to meet you." I said, smiling. I was glad she was friendly, too.

"I'm Whitney! This is Mil! Welcome to Goldenrod City!" She replied happily. I nearly fell over. Will's at the Gym for nothing! She spoke up again. "Are you here for the contest? Or for the gym challenge?"

"Both. I was hoping to complete in the Gym challenge prior to the Contest."

"Oh, sorry! The gym's closed for a few days. The stadium's taken up by the preparations for the contest." She looked at my outfit for a few moments before perking up and saying, "You aren't entering in that! Come on, let's find you a nice outfit, Mimi!" She took my hand and pulled me over into the rows and rows of dresses and shirts. "What's your favorite color?" That was easy. "Orange, pink, or red. Green is nice too." I replied. Whitney took a pair of extremely long, striped pink and green socks from a nearby bin. She saw my eyes widen at the sight of the length, and she said, "These are loosely woven. They bunch up and end up being knee socks." She pointed to her own stockings and pulled them up as far as she could. There was still a large amount of fabric left at the top, even though they were over her shorts, not even stretching. She also looked at my running shoes (Which I had changed into after seeing the huge towers in the distance this morning) and skirt, leggings, and shirt, before pulling me over to the side where there was a jean dress. It wasn't brightly colored, but it was a little shorter than what I was used to. "It might not be your type, but since you're wearing such brightly colored socks, you should really go with something more neutral. Also, perhaps a scoopneck, three-quarter sleeve, in the same color green?" She looked up and down the racks until she found the shirt in question. She ushered me to a dressing room, and politely waited outside. After I finished changing, I walked out to where she was waiting. I guessed I had done something right; Mil, Whitney, and Blaze were all looking at me, pleasantly surprised. "Another work, excellently done by Whitney!" She said, giggling as she pulled me in front of the mirror.

"Don't I look just a bit plain?" I asked, trying my best not to dampen her mood, I said, "With this face, I mean. Do these make me look less stylish?"

She looked at me, her face serious in thought. Her face grew excited yet again, and I guessed she had figured something out. She pulled two extra hair ties out of her pocket and tied my hair up into twin ponytails and shook them until they were a little spikey. I had to admit- I liked this outfit like this. I smiled, and she looked at me knowingly. "You never need to have a wardrobe malfunction again, with me around! Here, my Pokegear number is this…" She pulled a pink, shiny Pokegear out of her pocket and showed it to me. I copied the number into my Pokegear… Whitney, trainer class Gym Leader. I showed her the number and she nodded. "If you ever have a problem with any sort of outfit, call me!" She added, looking about furtively, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to word this wrong, but most trainers don't exactly walk around with clothes made of money. I made sure these were on sales racks. They do look cute though, huh?" She spoke in a normal tone at the end. She was smiling sincerely, and I thanked her. I had always wanted to wear clothes like this, but I was always scared that they were a little too out there for New Bark Town.

With a great outfit only costing 500 Poke, I walked out of the Department store back in my normal clothes, smiling at the fact that I now had made friends with a gym leader already. I walked over to the Radio Tower, and saw another Kimono girl, not unlike the one I had seen in Violet City, chatting with the attendant nearby.

Current Status

Mimi

Trainer Class: Lass

Pokemon

Leafy/ Bayleef

Level 20

Sora/ Hoothoot

Level 14

Togii/ Togepi

Level 12

Blaze/ Ponyta

Level 24

Will

Trainer Class: Breeder

Pokemon

Total/ Totodile

Level 15

Bubble/ Marill

Level 25

Row was left in the Day Care Couple's care.

Alyssa

Trainer Class: Battle Girl

Pokemon

Glacier/Glaceon

Level 57

Glam/Glameow

Level 75

Star/Staraptor

Level 75

Shinku/Luxray

Level 78

Hiroyuki/Bibarel

Level 68

Icicle was left in the Day Care Couple's care.

Maya

Trainer Class: Coordinator

Pokemon

Swampy/Swampert

Level 80

Mighty/Mightyena

Level 78

Rhine/Rhyhorn

Level 68

Swell/Swellow

Level 70

Pika/Pikachu

Level 75

Kitty was left in the Day Care Couple's care.

Kate:

Only known Pokemon is her Typhlosion, Inferno! What other Pokemon could she have? Only time will tell!


	7. Chapter 7: Vs Wailmer?

A/N: My Beta still hasn't gotten back to me yet. However, I added some stuff at the end, so please forgive me. M(_ _)M

Enjoy!

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><p>I stepped further inside the tower, and walked forward carefully. I lead Blaze through the door, and the Kimono girl in front of the counter walked up to me.<p>

"You're Mimi, right? Can you help me with this?" She asked. There was a small purple Pokemon following her. I smiled at it, and it looked at me happily. We walked back over to the counter. The girl standing behind it smiled and said, "Hello! Welcome to the Goldenrod Radio Tower. My name is Felicity, and I'll be your attendant today. Would you like to try the quiz for a radio card?" I nodded.

"First question. Which of these Pokemon is from Sinnoh? 1. Glameow. Two. Meowth. Three. Skitty." I answered, "1."

"Second question. Which one of these is used in making a Pokeball? Apricots, Acorns, or Apricorns?"

"Apricorns."

"Finally, what is the name of this city?"

"Goldenrod city!" I said, happy. She handed me a small card. It had a serial number on it. I eventually found the scan function on my phone, and then handed it to the Kimono Girl that I had talked to earlier. She scanned it on her own Pokegear. She handed it back to me and said, "Thank you very much. I don't know anyone from Sinnoh, and my brother won't let me see his Pokedex." She spun and bowed. "I hope this won't be the last time we meet, Mimi. It's been very nice to finally see you." She smiled and walked out of the tower. I sat down in one of the chairs and thought about that. Why do they seem to know me already? Who's their brother? These thoughts boggled my mind. Eventually, I walked out, deep in thought. Well, at least until someone fell off the magnet train track overhead. I saw her attempt to pick herself up, but fall over again. I ran over to her and automatically recognized her as my niece- Rosette. My eldest sister, Rosaline, had moved to Unova with her husband shortly after Rosette was born. Maya, Alyssa and I had traveled to Unova when I was 9, for her 5th birthday. We had all caught her a Pokemon there. I was so happy to see her- but I was also wondering why she was climbing the Magnet train track. However, I had not opportunity to ask this question, as she leaped up, and yelled, "Auntie Mimi!" I looked at her, a bit confused as to what to say. She had Rosaline's eyes- a hazel that glinted happily. She had short, wild blonde hair and two huge rose barettes were pinned on the sides of her hair. She wore a matching pink dress with a darker pink jacket and another, large rose as a fastener. She wore plain white sneakers. I also saw a green stripe in her hair, which I thought was a connector, and henceforth, the barettes were headphones.

Then the stripe moved.

I screamed and took a step back, pointing to her hair. She giggled and pulled a… a… _thing_ from her hair.

"W-w-what _is THAT?"_ were the only words I could actually form. It wore a tiny black top hat and a matching collar. It looked somewhat like a bright green snake, but it looked a lot like a lizard too. It grinned at me, with half-closed, smug looking eyes.

"It is a Snivy!" Her accent shone through- she had been raised in Unova.

"A Sni-_what_?"

"A Snivy. A grass-type starter Pokemon from Unova! His nickname is Smugleaf. I named him that because of his eyes, and the leaf-shape on his tail."

I cautiously moved my hand toward it. It moved its hand- rather than its head- towards my hand and shook it. I was, admittedly, quite impressed. However, the question that had to be asked, was. "Rosette. Where's sis?" Sis being Rosaline.

"Home." She said simply, offering no more details.

"Home, being New Bark Town, right?"

"Home, which is Kanoko Town. In Region Unova." She spoke these words very reluctantly.

I was too shocked to say a word.

"She knows you're here, right?"

"Mom likely knows by now. I have been away for several days. You came to Unova when you were my own age, so I thought that I could make it here in Johto okay." She explained, and I felt a stab of guilt. That was true- and I had caught her a cat-like Pokemon. She had nicknamed it Silk.

"So, how did you get here?"

"I had been planning this with Professor Juniper! She had told me that when trainers get their first Pokemon, they may travel. I asked if Johto was within reason. She said it was. So here I am!"

"But you left without Sis knowing."

"I told Professor to tell her."

I could barely contain my worry. I grabbed her by the hand and walked her- firmly- to the Pokemon Center.

"Rosette, we're using the video phone. Right. Now."

I stopped in front of the phone, scanned my trainer card, and waited for it to boot up. I put in Rosaline's number, and she answered. My sister looked extremely stressed and scared.

"Mimi, have you seen Rosette? I've been looking all over town for her. Her window was open and- and- and-!" She caught notice of Rosette looking very ashamed in the corner of the screen.

"Rosette! There you are! Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" Rosette nodded, trying to shrink out of the frame. I grabbed her arm and moved over so she could talk to her mother. Rosaline was much more fluent in our language, since she was raised her. She spoke so quickly even I could barely keep up. I felt bad for Rosette as she was being scolded, she spoke so much slower than me earlier, I knew that she was trying to decode each sentence in her mind.

Then, unexpectedly, she switched to Unovan dialect, and she completely lost me. Rosette nearly burst into tears- I had picked up the words, "Nearly called police" and "Phone's ringing off the hook with missed appointment" Then she switched back and forth before finally deciding to bring me back into the conversation.

"Mimi, can you take care of Rosette for me?" Rosaline asked, not expecting me to say yes.

"Sis, I hate to disappoint you, but I can't. I'm…"

"On your own journey, I know. And I know that Rosette isn't powerful enough to battle on her own yet. If you want to travel through Johto, I'm afraid I can't stop you. It's too far away." She thought for a moment, before saying, "Hold on. Go to the Union Room. I'll be there in moments!" As we disconnected, I simultaneously felt saddened and amused the common Unovan mistake that Rosette had made whenever I had talked to her in the past- instead of saying "I'll be there in a moment" they would say, "Be there in moments!" According to both her and Rosaline, the other students that had learned Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, or Hoenn dialect all made that problem.

As we walked to the Union room, I thought about the various differences in dialects among our different worlds. According to Hoenn-dialect speakers, we have a very guttural way of speaking. According to Sinnoh-dialect speakers, we speak in a rather odd manner, with the grammar a bit different. According to those in Kanto, our closest neighbor, we speak sort of informally, like, "Hey, y'all!" Despite these differences, they made little difference in the way we communicated. However, the biggest difference was Unova, where they practically spoke another language. The way they said "Pokemon" didn't even sound like how we say "Pokemon" here. I handed the attendant both our cards. As soon as we entered, Rosette began to freak out. She was yelling, from what I could understand, "Why am I-?" in Unovan dialect. I patted her on the head and said in the best I could muster, "Union room is virtual reality" but probably ended up sounding like "You should go clean the laundry." After Rosaline appeared, holding several Pokeballs, however, Rosette calmed down dramatically. I managed to pick up "It's okay" before she addressed both of us in language we could understand.

"Alright, Rosette, if you want to travel, you can, but you need to take these. Let them out, I hope you're pleasantly surprised by my choices."

Out popped more odd looking… _things_. However, I recognized Silk, the Purrloin I had caught, immediately. Swan, the Swanna that Maya had caught, soon was recognizable as well. It was making a valiant effort to remove the tiny tiara on its head.

"Sorry, but I couldn't find Smugleaf, or Stripe."

"It is okay, mom! I have both of them with me, and a Minccino that I named Lace." She let them out, and Rosaline smiled brightly at the sight of Lace, which was an odd, chinchilla-looking Pokemon. She looked at Rosette and said, "I'm so proud of you." It was a bit of a contrast; not a few minutes ago, she had been scolding her harshly. Lace smiled and began to dust off the floor. Stripe was… It looked sort of like a Girafarig, but black and with white, lighting shaped stripes around it. It wore leg-warmers. I was then aware of the fact that all of these Pokemon wore clothes of some sort. Lace wore a lace dress and headband, Swan wore a tutu and a tiara, which it was unsuccessful in removing. The small, child-like one wore striped socks and a lacy skirt. "That's Lolita, my Gothimu." Silk was wearing a large blue ribbon around its neck. Rosaline then handed Rosette another Pokeball.

"Here, take this one." She added. "It will help you."

Rosette began to protest in Unovan. I could guess that she was complaining about the 1:6 preferred ratio, which was stated as the perfect amount of Pokemon in one person's team. If there was more, some researchers said there would be a disadvantage. Rosaline then said, "Well, if that's a problem, give me one of your Pokemon back." There was a horrified look on Rosette's face. She held her Pokemon close to her. Rosaline pulled a Pokeball from her waist- out came a huge Wailmer.

"Think you can fight me? I've been a trainer much longer than you." She said, pointing to the heart sticker on the Pokeball she held. Rosette stood her ground, and Rosaline approached her.

It looked as though they were going to fight, right then and there-

When Rosaline removed the heart pendent from her neck and tied it around Rosette's wrist.

"I want you to go out, and do the best you can. I'll be back in Unova, and I'll try my best here, too. These badges…" She opened her sports coat, and took several of the badges off. "This way, some of them will listen to you. If you ever get lonely, just call me with the C-gear, okay?" She said, and patted Rosette on the head. I also registered my number with both of them, and we woke up in the Pokemon center.

Outside, Rosette told me that once the Magnet train was working again, she would ride it. (Walking the length was too long.) She said that she had told her mother she planned to ride the Magnet train after she met me in Johto in the note she had wrote. I was happy for her, and we met up with Maya and Alyssa outside. On cue, Ivan showed up.

"Is that your boyfriend, Auntie?" Rosette said, as he walked down the main street. She must have seen him looking for me. I found myself mumbling something rather embarrassing (had Rosette and Maya heard it, at least. They were much too similar in personality for their own good, and I would never hear the end of my mumbling of "I wish") in Sinnoh dialect, and Alyssa looked at me knowingly. She responded back, "I won't say a word." Maya said, "By the way, I understand completely. Mr. Steven Stone, the champion back in Hoenn, was really cute."

"Aww, crap!" I mumbled. Rosette giggled. "Your face is all red." Maya broke down into snickers. Alyssa did her best to retain a serious expression, but her face was increasing in color. "Okay, you two. Laugh." They both cracked up laughing on cue. Ivan looked at me, blushed, and walked away. Alyssa and Maya started squealing something that sounded like, "Oh my God!" and hugged me. I pushed them away and ran to catch up with him.

"Aren't you going to battle me?"

"No. Not yet at least." He smirked. "I'm actually planning on entering the contest."

"You don't treat them that well… Do you think you'll be okay?"

"I'll be fine. They have machines that make Puffins or whatever they're called at the stadium." He turned and began to walk away. I stood for a moment before opting to walk away.

"Hey, Mimi, was it?"

"Yeah." I turned around. "What of it?"

"T-Tha-Thank you. For worrying about me. No one's ever done that before." He appeared to smile, and I could see in his eyes that he was grateful.

"It was nothing. Get some rest, the Contest is tomorrow."

"Follow your own advice. It's getting late."

"S-See you." _Oh my gosh, my first conversation with a boy… That's not Will._

Instead of saying something, he had turned around and held up a hand. Blaze, whom I had nearly forgotten about, nudged me, and neighed, as if to say, "You go, girl!"

I looked at her. She looked a bit tense.

"Blaze, how about a nice ride through the park?"

Soon, we were galloping to the National Park nearby. I dismounted at the entrance and walked through the gates into the field ahead. I walked forward, not really paying attention. I closed my eyes and inhaled the summery, forest air deeply. It felt so strange, to be so close to a city, and yet so close to nature. I had continued to walk while doing this, and in the process, had tripped over someone sitting in the middle of the sidewalk. I caught myself in midair, and steadied myself. I began to apologize feverently.

As if to add to my embarrassment, it was a _really_ cute guy I had just tripped over.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you alright, miss?"

"Y-y-y-yeah!" I could feel my face burning. "I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. I was trying to find the trainer that my sister keeps talking about. Are you aware of a girl named Mimi? She has a Togepi."

"Mimi? T-That's me!"

"Oh! You're Mimi, huh?" He said, standing up. "I'm Morty! Nice to meet you."

He was wearing a loose blue shirt with orange detailing, a pair of Khaki pants, and a blue headband. He had a young-looking face, but his voice made him sound more like an adult.

"Umm… If I look uncool or something, I can go home and change…" He said, pointing to the northern exit to the park.

"No, you look fine! Don't worry about it."

"Okay, that's good." He looked back towards Goldenrod. "You haven't seen a Kimono girl around here, have you? She's my sister. Or, rather, they're my sisters."

"Eh? Er, yes! I have!"

"Okay! I need to go find her." He proceeded to walk back towards the city, then stopped abruptly and turned to me. "Could you please tell me where you saw her?"

It was all I could do to not laugh.

It was a sunny afternoon in Kanto. I stepped through the grass outside of Cerulean. I replayed the feeling of defeating the champion, then being defeated moments later. The crowds calling my name, "Kate! Kate! Kate!" as they cheered for me. But the feeling had left as soon as it had come- Blue had appeared not moments after I had been crowned, and "put me in my place". Well, I wouldn't have had that for long, and the moment he became an official Gym leader, I had battled him and made a point of winning. Of course, it didn't make a difference.

"Some sort of gear, huh?" I asked Inferno, next to me. It nodded and pointed ahead. There was a Team Rocket grunt standing not too far off. I said, "Hey! You! What's with your Rattata?" It was having difficulty walking because of a great burden on its back- the missing gear of the Power Plant.

The last time I had truly battled was when I was champion. That was three years ago, when the title of champion had moved faster than running water. It was no surprise that the grunt had disappointed me, too. I took the Rattata's gear and told the grunt to leave and never return. I walked into the Power Plant, and I was soon called by my older sister, Rosaline.

"And, did you hear? Mimi has made it to Goldenrod. She's going to compete in the Sinnoh-style contest. Isn't that great?" I lowered the phone from my ear, and these words sunk in. I heard her vaguely calling for my attention, saying, "Kate? Are you there?"

"A contest, huh? I might just have to make my way back to Goldenrod, Inferno." I slapped the phone shut.

"If she's made it to Goldenrod, then she's defeated Bugsy." I handed the workers the gear, and the machines booted up again. With loud whirring, the lights across the Power board lit back up. I laughed to myself as I called out my Fearow, Storm.

"Goldenrod, Storm dear. Mimi, I'm afraid I can't let you win."

We soared into the air, and I looked at the towers, both historical and new, on the horizon.

"Let the games begin."

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><p>AN: DUDE. Silly Morty is fun to write XD

And Kate. It's a little tough to convey her personality, but I like writing her. Also, Whitney was fun, last chapter. Again, please read and review!


	8. Chapter 8: Vs Raticate!

We walked back toward the gate. Blaze was nervous, so I put her back in her Pokeball. Morty was following me, not really questioning it. I moved to the left. He moved to the left. I kept walking, pretending that hadn't happened. We walked back out onto the route. There were several trainers there now, much to my frustration. They were probably getting some last minute training in, something I probably should have been doing. One of them ran up to me.

"Battle me! I need to get stronger!" He taunted. "You don't look so tough!"

At these words, Morty stepped in front of me.

"Now, sir. It's quite impolite to insult the kind lady here, who just happened to be guiding me to Goldenrod city. Should you like a battle, it's with me you should fight." He said, glaring at the man. However, he did not back down and instead called out his first Pokémon. It was a Raticate, which I was a bit surprised to see. I had not thought that they evolved so early. At only level 25, I could have easily battled it.

Morty, however, would not allow me to. "Save the strategy planning for tomorrow." I simply nodded and stepped back. Morty brought out a Gengar that I just now realized had been following us. It used night shade, and the Raticate ran behind its trainer immediately. The trainer was quaking in his shoes as he handed Morty the prize money and ran away.

"That's how you can tell." He said, gesturing to the other guy, "How you can tell whether they are good or not." I nodded nervously. That single attack was, in itself, not especially powerful. However, the way he stood while battling, and Gengar's confidence while using it, told me that Morty definitely had some serious battling experience.

As we walked back through the gates, we were greeted by an immediate, and utterly confused, greeting from the Kimono Girl from earlier.

"Naoko! Why did you leave me there?" Morty asked. Now that they were together, it was obvious that they were related- they had the same kind look in their eyes.

"Sorry, Morty, but I guessed she would be here by then."

"Sis, you know- Guessing doesn't exist in our family." The way Morty said this indicated that there was something that they weren't telling me, but I decided not to pry.

"Okay, it's true. While we were meditating, I had a vision, so I went to the Radio Tower to wait for her. I tried out the quiz… But I didn't know whether or not Glameow was from Sinnoh or not! It might have been a trick question, for all I know…" She said, looking away. She appeared to be a bit unsettled by this.

"Sorry, Naoko, but if you had told me, I could have lent you my Pokedex." He paused before adding, "It is upgraded to National, after all."

I was about to say something when I was interrupted by Rosette.

"Hello!" She waved in an overly friendly manner to them. "I am named Rosette, and I am from the Region Unova!" She was speaking a bit better now. Alyssa had probably told her to add in a few more particles to her sentences. However, she was still saying, "Region Unova" which was a rather glaring error.

"Rosette, don't say "Region" before Unova. Okay?"

"Okay, Auntie."

"And about that Auntie thing. Call me Mimi, okay?"

"Okay, Mimi."

She had a blank look on her face. She had probably just been given a huge amount of information from Alyssa on her previous introductions, and just now, I had added more to it. She then said to Morty, "Sir, is your head hurting with knowledge too?"

"What does that mean, exactly?" Naoko whispered to me.

"I don't really know!" I whispered back.

"What are we talking about?" Morty stage-whispered. I started talking normally again.

"Rosette, you don't say that. You say, 'Do you understand what she said,' or something similar to that."

Naoko told Morty that they needed to go home before the other sisters started to worry. He agreed and the duo walked away, less composed than before. Naoko was trying not to stumble, as her shoes had been replaced with platform flip-flops for unknown reasons.

I walked to the Pokemon center, where everyone was waiting. Rosette was being talked to harshly by Alyssa. I approached them, and Alyssa said, "She's leaving tomorrow." She breathed loudly, sighing, before adding, "After the contest, right after it."

I was shocked, but the Magnet train was up and running again, according to them.

"Some people from Saffron came over." Maya explained. "It was cool!" I sat down and tried to explain to Rosette that she needs to wait for a short time beforehand. "It would be safer. Your Pokemon might level up some more."

"No way, I want to go as soon as I can." Rosette responded.

Just then, the last thing I had wanted to hear-

"Oh, so the rumors are true, huh?" The "huh" was elongated into an annoying crescendo.

"Kate. You're back."

"Oh? Are you not pleasantly surprised?" She said, laughing to herself. Rosette sat up, suddenly at attention.

"Aunt Kate?" She squeaked. She had told me how much she was looking forward to meeting her before while I winced, biting back the words, "You don't want to."

Kate smiled and allowed her to hug her.

"I never got to meet you before!" Rosette said, but I did my best to smile. I knew that in the back of her mind, Kate was unconsciously calculating whether or not Rosette was a threat to her. She eventually looked back down at her and chuckled. Her realization was obvious.

"You're strong, right? That's why you came here, to Johto, right?"

"N-No. I came here to get strong." Rosette responded.

"Oh. How cute." She said, a malicious tone to her voice. Rosette walked back over to us, and started to proclaim how nice Kate was as she walked away. Maya returned, holding several room keys.

"We're room 5. They have a pull-out couch for Rosette." She said, twirling them around her fingers. She gave one to each of us, and we all walked over to the room marked, "5" in the long hallway of doors and numbers.

I climbed the ladder, Maya sighing while reading her diary. I heard her talking across the room to Alyssa. Will had already fallen asleep and was snoring loudly. Rosette soon followed, although I could only tell because Smugleaf had stopped singing and was now snoring in harmony with Will. Maya said, "When I first started my journey, I had really good luck."

"Me too. When was your Shock Gym?" Alyssa said.

"Shock Gym?"

"Yeah, when you realized you weren't half as good as you thought."

I guess they thought I was asleep. I wasn't about to correct them.

"Hm… I chose Mudkip, so I suppose it was Mauville. It was all coasting up to there."

"For me, I suppose it was Gardenia in Eterna."

"T-that's early!"

"I was still fighting with Piplups here, mind. Marth traded me his Chimchar for a short time to battle her, though. I felt bad."

"No, they have definitely had to face worse."

I heard Maya shifting around, as Mighty grunted. I guessed she sat up.

"Do you think Mimi will be okay? Against Whitney? I've heard a lot of trainers get really angry after battling her Miltank and losing."

"I think that she'll be okay. We might have to help her a little bit, but she'll be fine."

"What about Rosette, too? I'm worried about her, as well."

"She's got more concentration than a Tauros. She won't let a loss or two get her down."

"Alyssa." Maya was obviously upset. I knew by the tone of her voice that she thought they were the only ones awake. She had only used this tone once before, when she had scolded me for not healing the Purrloin for Rosette.

"Stop. You need to just get over Snowball. If you act all stony like this, you'll just push us all away. Maybe you don't notice it, but you're driving the rest of us nuts."

I heard Alyssa mumbling before finally saying, "I'm sorry, but... It just sort of changes you. As a person, as a trainer, it just completely changes the way you see the world. It's like... You don't think about it much until you see the Lost Tower, or Mt. Pyrite, or the House of Memories, but Pokemon can die. And I've stopped seeing the world the same way- Now, it's the same as it was, but there's one less Piplup in it. Even in Sinnoh, they're really rare." She finished, sighing loudly. "But how will I know when I've moved on?"

"When you stop asking yourself that." Maya said, a sympathetic tone to her voice.

"Let's get some sleep. We'll need rest for tomorrow." Alyssa said, rolling over.

I lied awake for a few more minutes, pondering their conversation for a while, before the quiet whirring of machines in the Pokemon Center outside lulled me to sleep.

I awoke to Maya singing, ironing her tuxedo costume for today. Alyssa was humming along, stitching up her frilly purple dress, trying to make it a bit punkish. Rosette was messing with a bundle of satin. She flipped it over and it was apparent that she would be entering Lace in the contest- Alyssa must have given her a huge amount of lace of her own dress. Will was struggling with a suit, which I guessed Grandma had given him. I slid down the stairs, grabbed my dress from my bag, and started to iron it. I listened to Maya's song a bit closer now.

"The Skittys are prowling in the garden, nya, nya, nya. They're looking for a Ledyba, nya, nya, nya." I recognized it as a Hoenn lullaby. "The Ledyba and Illumise are dancing with the Volbeat. They won't be caught by a Skitty, not, not today." Mighty perked up her head at the end of the song and nudged Maya, as if asking her to sing more. I looked back down at my dress to find that Rosette was stitching rhinestones to the hem of the dress. "Don't worry, Mimi! They match tons!"

I didn't quite get it, but Maya was starting to get ready. She had claimed the bathroom and Will was attempting to hang a sheet from the cieling. Maya was asking Pika to tie the ribbon in the back, although Pika was not happy that Mighty was, once again, entering the contest. Pika was letting off tiny electric shocks, from what I could gather. Will was asking Bubble to please not embarrass him and gracefully tie the bow. I guessed based on the random bubblebeam from the hole in the curtain that this plan had failed.

Alyssa was putting on her dress, and she had succeeded in changing the style of it. She now had several streaks of multiple colors in her hair. Rosette had put on her dress now, and Lace had succeeded in tying a bow on the back and sides of the dress. I buckled the overall-dress and tied up my hair. The green shirt was well-made, and was very soft and light-feeling.

We set out, my socks actually staying up quite well. I could feel Leafy following behind me happily. I had just announced my plans to enter Leafy instead of Sora, and Maya had been happy for me. Alyssa had warned me about this, but gave me new accessories. Rosette was too nervous to care. We filed into the stadium, where the Emcee, DJ Mary, was standing in the center of the stadium on a floating platform. As we filed in, we handed over our entrance forms, and Mary read our names off the teleprompter and the name of the Pokemon we chose. My ears perked up when I heard Ivan's introduction. "Ivan, from Lavender Town! Entering with Flame, a Quilava!" He stood below the platform, and Flame jumped around. The crowd clapped, and Morty walked up next. There was a small Misdreavus floating behind him. "Morty, from Ecruteak City! Entering with Mini, a Misdreavus!" It floated around behind him and appeared to sing a song. He smiled as the crowd cheered. Alyssa nudged me and said, "I can totally see why he's popular with the girls." She winked. "Look at that smile!" He was wearing a different outfit from what I had seen him wearing before. He now wore a purple headband instead of the blue one, and a purple scarf with red ends and a brooch. He also was wearing a black sweater and white jeans. The black sweater had purple cuffs. I had to admit, I was a little red.

"Falkner, from Violet City! Entering with Fluff, a Starly!" Falkner walked under the platform, his eyes first on me, with pride; then on Morty, with friendly competition, and then to the crowd, where they lit up immensly. The female portion of the crowd went wild yet again. He waved, and I noticed the traditional clothes that he wore- he looked much more like a samurai now than ever before. He walked to the place where the earlier entrants were waiting, where he high-fived Morty. I watched Will run forward under the platform as his name was called. "Will, from New Bark Town! Entering with Bubble, a Marill!" He smiled and waved to the crowd. My heart leaped up into my throat as I ran under the platform. Everything was so much louder here, and I was aware of many cameras focused on me. It seemed like a year before Mary yelled, "Mimi from New Bark Town! Entering with Leafy, a Bayleef!" I curtseyed nervously to the crowd, and Leafy danced happily behind me. I ran over to where Ivan, Will, Morty, and Falkner were waiting. "I wonder where Whitney and Jasmine are." Morty said. "They're usually the first to enter."

It suddenly dawned on me- Falkner, Whitney, Morty, and Jasmine were the names of "Johto's Fearsome Four", our biggest claim to fame. Since we had such a close relationship with Kanto, they often overshadowed our rather modest region. However, most trainers knew of the Fearsome Four, Will and I included. the fact that anyone could beat someone on their first try usually meant luck. Which, apparently, I had.

"Morty, are you a Gym Leader, like Falkner?" I asked. Whenever I had asked Will who the people on the posters were, he usually just started to talk about Whitney and her Pokemon. I was at a rather large disadvantage when it came to identifying possible allies.

"Yep, and proud member of the Ultimate Quad Sqaud!" He responded, laughing at the end.

"'Ultimate Quad Squad' is what Morty calls the 'Fearsome Four'." Falkner said. "He doesn't like the name of 'Fearsome Four' since most people think we're pretty nice. So, we came up with that as a joke between us. Well, it was a joke for all of us except Morty. He doesn't get it at all." He laughed, too, as Alyssa joined us. Glam was cleaning her face as Alyssa joined in the conversation. We made small talk as Maya made her way over, followed by Rosette. Finally, came the names that we were all waiting for.

"Whitney, from Goldenrod City!" Mary tried to continue, but the cheers from Goldenrod natives drowned out even the loudest yelling she could muster. Once the cheering subsided enough for her to be heard, she said, "Entering with Mil, a Miltank!" The crowd got fired up again, and Mary sighed as Whitney ran forward, ending her dash with a huge hug that managed to surround both Morty and Falkner.

"Nice to see you too, Whitney." Morty laughed, and Falkner went a little red. "U-Um, nice to see you." Whitney looked nice with the pink dress she had bought, and her hair was tied into an elegant updo. Mil was talking to Mini and Fluff. The akwardness subsided and we turned our attention back to the field.

"Jasmine, from Olivine City! Entering with Rusty, a Steelix!" The crowd cheered loudly. She wore a lacy white sundress, and her hair was braided at her back. The immense, metallic serpent behind her turned, making a graceful entrance. She jogged over to us, although it was more of a power walk.

"Kate, from New Bark Town!" I groaned. Why did she always have to pop up? "Entering with Farfalle, a Butterfree!" The crowd cheered, and I had to admit, I was quite jealous. She was wearing a purple shirt that matched Farfalle's coloring, and the skirt was a long, frilly piece that matched Farfalle's wings. She strode forward with a smug look on her face, not unlike Smugleaf. Rosette looked dejected.

"I don't think I can win." She said, holding a nervous Lace close to her. I held her close to me. I didn't know how powerful Farfalle was, but I did not want Kate to have a reason to attack us. The platform Mary was standing on lowered, however, it suddenly shot back up into the sky.

"Sorry, everyone! We have a last minute entrant." I could hardly believe my ears as she said, "Rosaline, who came from Kanoko Town!" She sighed, as the paper had been shoved into her face by a Wingull. "She is entering with Seraph, a Zoroark!" The crowd gasped as the black and red, wolf-like Pokemon stood behind Rosaline. It was a rare Pokemon, even in Unova, where it was from. It growled from its place behind Rosaline. She waved to the crowd before proceeding to the sidelines where we were waiting.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone. The boat was a bit delayed." She said.

"Ah. Rosaline." Kate said, obviously not too happy.

"Kate. You're well, I trust?" Rosaline responded.

"Quite." She sniffed, turning back to Farfalle.

"Let the first round, the visual competition, begin!" Mary called, and the crowd cheered once more. I stepped backstage nervously as the curtains came down around us. Alyssa was putting accessories on Glam in a flurry. I saw a scarf, a piece of fluff, and a scale fly on before I could blink. Rosette was carefully pinning flowers to Lace's dress. Will was having difficulty placing the earrings on Bubble. I tied the ribbons around the base of Leafy's leaf and put a bowtie on it.

Time was called, so we proceeded back out onto the stage. Everyone was impressed by Lace's dress, and seemed to like Seraph's accessories as well. However, Leafy did not stand out too much, a worry that was echoed by everyone else.

Next was the dance competition, and I tried to choreograph a good dance for Leafy. However, with the limited number of steps, I had some difficulty. I had it jump, then turn to the right, then run forward, all on off-beats, and it threw off some of the other Pokemon. I knew my luck wouldn't last long, so when we entered the acting competition, I was extremely nervous.

"Okay, Seraph! False swipe, go!" The Zoroark scratched at the air, causing huge purple-colored stripes to appear in the sky. Then it leaped into the air, and ran into the fog that had been created. The colors broke and they melted back into the sky to much applause. I went next. "Leafy, ready? Magical leaf!" Leafy swung the leaf around, and the leaves searched for a target. Leafy provided itself as a target, and ran into it, swirling and dancing, until the leaves fell, the glowing colors surrounding Leafy.

Next was Bubble. "Bubblebeam!" It used the common- albeit beautiful- technique of swirling, however it did not stand out too much.

"Mighty, use assurance!" It ran up into the sky before slamming one paw back onto the ground. Alyssa was to appeal next, however, her command ("Glam! Assist, go,") was cut off by the huge rumbling of jet engines.

We all watched in horror as multiple floating platforms, many, many times the size of the one that DJ Mary had been standing on, flew toward the stadium. One had a huge R on it, one an M, one an A, and another with a stylized G.


	9. Chapter 9: Vs Arbok!

The platforms floated onto the scene, looking threatening and even bigger than before. A girl, not too much older than me, probably about seventeen, leaped up onto the rim. She wore a white, futuristic outfit and had short red hair, neatly combed around her face.

"Please put all Pokemon away and leave them where you are. We really don't want to hurt them." She said into a megaphone. Alyssa growled next to me.

"No way in Distortion World are we going to let you do that!" She screamed. She calmed down enough for me to ask her who this girl was.

"She's from Team Galactic. Commander Mars." Alyssa said, the horror in her voice obvious. Jupiter's right behind her, and Saturn too…" Her eyes were wild with fear. She put all of her Pokemon away, and began backing away. Kate did something I didn't expect in the least- she stood in front of us, and said, "Run while you can! These people are here for something, they're not about to let it go. Run as fast as you can- take Rosette too, and Alyssa and Maya. I'll call Mom if they don't get me, okay?" Her voice actually sounded as though she was worried.

"I must be dreaming." I thought.

"Shut up and run!" She yelled, and she called out all of her Pokemon. I looked up, and saw- to my despair- Team Rocket, also standing on a blimp. There were others I didn't recognize, some with red hoods and others with blue hoods. They all looked at the stadium with the same contempt. Maya gritted her teeth and stood her ground.

The Pokemon I didn't recognize were Kate's. It was obvious their power level was much higher than I could have guessed. Leading the team was Inferno, followed by Farfalle, and there was also a Scyther, a Fearow, a Porygon Z, and a Gengar.

"Everyone, put your Pokemon back, and cover your ears!" I did as Kate warned, and soon understood why.

"Schwarz, perish song, go!" She yelled, and the Gengar started singing what sounded like a fairly nice song before breaking into dissonance and screeching sounds. She called all of her team back immediately, and soon enough, all of the Zubat and Raticate that had been rampaging towards us- as well as several Arbok, Purugly, and Houndoom- fainted. She called out all of her Pokemon, and in the voice I recognized, Kate said, "Well, if you won't run, then fight!"

"Storm, use gust!" She yelled, and the huge Fearow flapped its mighty wings. It did not take much for several of the smaller platforms to fall. The one that Mars and company were riding on lost a propeller.

"Star, I'm counting on you! Aerial ace!" Alyssa yelled, and a huge Staraptor flew into the air alongside Storm.

"Sora, let's go too! Use drill peck!"

"Storm, Brave bird!"

The trio flew into the platform and it began to sink. Storm returned to Kate and Star continued to patrol the sky. Sora suddenly began to glow, just as Leafy had… And then, it spread its wings again, and Sora had evolved into a Noctowl!

"All right, Mimi, Kate! We need to switch to an aerial battle. Get Rosaline to calm down Rosette, and I'll get Maya to stop panicking. We can win!" Alyssa called from where she was, holding onto Star's talons. Maya looked up and saw the group with the hoods falling. She brought out a Swellow. "Swell, fly me up there! It looks like they could use some help!" She zoomed up into the sky, and I could vaguely see Morty, Jasmine, Whitney, and Falkner, all battling a specific group. Falkner was not doing quite as well as his confidence predicted. Maya landed nearby, and ran forward to face the group with the red hoods. I saw her call out Mighty before I felt something running into me. It was Rosette, and she was telling me to get up into the sky. I grabbed Sora's talons, and it understood. It flew up into the air, and I could see Rosette struggling with Swan.

There was a huge beam of light headed towards me, and oddly enough I didn't panic. There was suddenly a wall, right in front of me. Sora had used protect, a move I didn't even know it knew.

"Great! Let's go help them out some more!"

The battles raged on for at least several hours, but we were losing.

"What are you even after?" I demanded after running into a Team Rocket admin.

"You didn't know what the winner of this contest will be awarded?" She responded.

"N-no."

"An Eevee is the prize! The winner will have to catch it themselves, but it was designated to be the prize."

"And you want it why?" I said, trying to make sense of it.

"Eevees can evolve into many different forms. However, once it evolves, it cannot change form. If a kind of Eevee could be bred that would allow it to move through these forms based on its environment, think about the kind of power we could have!"

I gasped in horror. I could only imagine what the poor little thing could be going through at this very minute.

"But why are they here?" I said, trying to figure out the presence of the others, whom had been identified as Team Aqua and Team Magma.

"They all want the same thing as us, just different end results. We all want to take over the world!" She finished.

"Well, I won't let you!" I saw a ceiling tile move, and Rosaline leaped down. She looked much more powerful than I had ever seen her. Seraph was behind her, and so was a huge, eagle-like bird that I guessed was a Braviary. There was also a huge, ape-like Pokemon, whom I guessed was a Darmanitan. It was also accompanied by a Whimsicot, a sheep-like Pokemon that rode whirlwinds.

"Jet, use gust! Darmy, use take down! Whim, use leech seed!" The trio attacked as one, and the Arbok, Vileplume, and Murkrow all used an attack on her Pokemon as well, but it was no use. Like Kate, I immediately recognized that she had an entirely different level of power than what I was used to. The Admin's trio fainted. She called them back, and ran away while yelling "You'll regret this!"

Rosaline guided me back out into the stadium.

By the time we exited the blimp, most of the people had moved to a ground battle. I could still see Kate flying around the sky, fighting any grunts who decided to fight in the air. Morty and Falkner were fighting a man with a red and white suit on, while Whitney and Falkner were battling a person that looked like a pirate. Alyssa was battling a girl with purple hair tied in a strange way, whom I guessed was Jupiter. Rosette and Will were battling several Team Rocket members who were being ordered around by Proton.

Then, I noticed a large crate in the center of the stadium. It had several large windows, and I could see an Eevee inside. There was a young man standing in front of it. He looked like a researcher at Professor Elm's lab, however, I could tell he was on our side. He was fighting several grunts at once- all with Machokes- with a single Vulpix. It used fire blast on all of them, and the grunts took back their Pokemon and fled.

It all appeared to be going well, until the man guarding the crate ran into it, causing the Eevee to run away. It was immediately in pursuit by all of us. The lady from earlier was chasing it desperately. I could tell why we all wanted it. Will wanted to train it, and help it grow so it could go to a good home. I knew Alyssa wanted it to learn more about it- she had a Glaceon, but it hadn't stayed an Eevee for long, according to her. Maya wanted it for contest reasons. Ivan wanted it for its potential to be a strong Pokemon. Rosette wanted it because it was cute. Rosaline wanted it for its Pokeathalon potential. Why did I want it? The most likely reason is because I had to fight for it.

Sora swooped down and grabbed it. I had Leafy use magical leaf on it, at which point it stopped struggling a little bit. Sora landed in a corner of the stadium, at this point, yet unnoticed by the various grunts and admins running around. The Eevee ran a few feet back into the corner. I approached it, ready to try to catch it. I had the Pokeball in my hand, and I could see the other trainers closing in on me.

There were many, many people trying to catch that one little Eevee. When the flashes of red stopped, we all crowded around, looking for the one we threw. There was no denying that the ball that had caught it had a square sticker on it- the one I had thrown.

"Capture… failed." Alyssa said, sadly. The Team Rocket lady tried to grab the Pokeball from my hand, but I quickly attached it to my belt.

"I won't let you have Evan!"

She pulled a megaphone from her belt and said "Abort mission," her voice absolutely dripping with disappointment and anger. I could tell that she hadn't always had such a mean voice, in fact, she probably was very kind until she joined Team Rocket.

As she ran, she caught sight of Ivan. She stopped, dead in her tracks, and began to whisper something I couldn't understand. Proton motioned to her and yelled, "Ariana, let's get a move on!" I heard a few grunts running by, yelling, "For Giovanni!" I remembered from _Red's Adventure_ just who Giovanni was.

"Tell this Giovanni guy that no matter what he tries to do to bring back Team Rocket, we will always, always, stop him." I said, a determined look on my face. Alyssa yelled a bunch of words I'd get yelled at for repeating to Jupiter. "Because, in the end, you're just a coward." She finished, glaring with utmost anger.

Maya stood off to the side, helping Mighty to stand.

"Come on, please? You can do it." She whispered. Mighty whimpered, but stood."

"It's paw is hurt. Maya, its paw!" Rosaline said, and began to wrap it in a bandage. Jet was flying about in the air, sending warning strikes to the smaller, flying skiffs. Maya thanked her and Mighty nodded, as though to thank her as well.

Once they had left, the guy from earlier came up to us and introduced himself.

"My name's Bill. I'm a PC technician. I made the PC box system in Kanto." He shook our hands (Kate blushed at this) and we introduced ourselves. He picked up the microphone that DJ Mary was using earlier and said, "Sorry, everyone, but the prize has already been caught by Mimi. The contest can still go on, with a money prize, though." The crowd that had filed back in cheered, and Alyssa smiled at me. "Great job, Mimi," She said, and I knew that the old Alyssa was back. "You did it! You got an Eevee!"

The contest was cancelled, due to the fact that a good portion of the audience had left the city, scared. The next contest would be in Gracidea valley, a small area between Kanto and Johto. The event was quietly announced to the competitors, so as not to tip off any Team Rocket members. We all thanked the emcees and exited the stadium.

"Sorry about all that, guys." Whitney said, her head down.

"It's okay, Whitney. You didn't do it." Will said, doing his best to comfort her.

"But, I owe all of you something. Come with me." She led us to the Gym, where she walked back into a smaller room. I looked around. The entire place was brightly colored- striped pink and white walls, fluffy pink carpets, and a huge playground-like castle dominating the center of the Gym. Whitney walked back out, holding a canvas bag in her hand.

"Here. You all fought like heroes back there." She placed a Plain Badge in each of our hands. She hesitated before handing Ivan his, before saying, "Please, treat them better. I was watching you back there, you need to be a lot less demanding. A Zubat can't use bite and mega drain all at the same time." She smiled and handed the badge to him.

"Promise me, okay?"

Ivan merely nodded and took it.

"Are you sure you'll be all right, Dear?" Rosaline was fretting, handing a small case to Rosette. "This is a Magnet Train pass, it will get you to Saffron City. If you need me, call me on the C-Gear, I'll be on the first plane to Kanto, okay? Don't forget that I love you, okay? Crys, that Pokemon I got you, it'll help you." She kept fretting for a few more minutes before Maya calmed her down. Rosette boarded the train, and we all waved until she had zoomed out of sight.

"Sis, it'll be okay." I said to Rosaline, who was crying, but looked happy.

"I didn't want her to stay in one place. She's had a free spirit. I wanted her to embrace that." She whispered. I nodded, and Maya let Rhine out of its Pokeball. Falkner flew away, and Kate was close behind him. Whitney had gone back to the Gym, awaiting challengers. Alyssa leaped onto Rhine, and Maya grabbed the reins. Ivan was nowhere in sight. Maya and Alyssa waved to us until they were out of sight. Rosaline said her goodbyes to me, and walked in the direction of the airport. Will had gone somewhere, so it was just me and Morty.

"Will you be okay?" He asked. "All by yourself, I mean. You need a responsible adult with you!"

"No, I'll be fine. You sound like Rosaline." I responded, letting out Blaze.

"No, I meant me. Please let me come with you?" He was begging relatively animatedly now, and I couldn't really say no. I couldn't say yes yet, either. "If I come with you, maybe I can find what I'm looking for, and my friend Eusine."

I decided to agree, as long as I got to ride Blaze.

We were walking towards the flower shop on the edge of town (At Morty's request: "You need to be able to grow berries if you want to go on an adventure, Mimi!") when I was slightly shocked to hear:

"Heey! Mimi! Wait up!" Will was running towards me. He stopped a few feet from me. "You- You- Call Alyssa and Maya! We have something going on, back at the Day care!" He said, panting. I called them, just as he had said, and they were standing in front of me, only a few minutes after I told them to come. Morty looked rather confused as we all ran out the city gate to the south.

"Mimi, what's going on?"

"We left some of our Pokemon back there, and there's something going on, I guess!"

We all came to a halt outside the cabin, and Grandpa ran out.

"Everyone! Look at this!" He handed back the two Pokemon that had been left here. He also handed back a blue thing, with white spots to Alyssa and a pink thing with purple dots on it to Maya.

"We don't know how or why or what they are, but your Pokemon were holding them." He said. "Take good care of them, they probably mean something to your Pokemon."

"Sir, these are eggs!" Alyssa said. "They're a phenomenon. In Sinnoh, we're studying them. We don't know why even mammalian Pokemon make these, and we don't know how they come about, but a lot of research could be beneficial. I'll take very good notes for you, sir!" She bowed deeply, clutching the egg.

Grandpa chuckled. "Well, here, young lady, we've about got it figured out!" He might as well have dropped a weight on Alyssa's head. She looked extremely deflated.

"Pokemon breeders that leave their Pokemon here for natural training tend to find these. They take good care of them. We're sort of Pokemon breeders too, all of those Persian and Meowth back there are ours!"

"That egg, you're taking great care of it." Morty said, pointing to Will. "It might hatch soon."

Will put his ear up to it, and it shook as he did so.

"Wow! It will! Awesome!" Will jumped up and down happily. After we said goodbye to Grandpa, we returned to Goldenrod City and this time, made it to the flower shop without interruption. We purchased a small berry garden and a watering can. After thanking the cashier, we walked back out into the city. As Morty and I were walking out onto the nearby road, we were stopped by Will.

"Hey, guys!" He yelled. "I wanna come with you guys!" I couldn't say no- he was my best friend after all. So the three of us set up tents and ended up camping out for the day.

I awoke to the smell of something cooking. I walked out of the tent and saw Morty trying to make oatmeal.

"I thought it would be good, but there's too much water now and it's not going to be good." He said, sounding rather defeated.

"It's okay. We can go get something back in town." I said.

After we had bought food, we were sitting around the fire, eating what we had bought.

"So, how old are you?" Will asked, checking to see if the trivia from the magazines compared to the real Ecruteak Gym Leader.

"21. You guys are 13, right? Most trainers with starters came from New Bark Town."

"Yep! Leafy's my starter. Will had Bubble since he turned 13, though. He's about 13 and a half now."

I turned around, expecting him to confirm what I had said. On the other hand, however, he was looking dejectedly at the ground.

"It's not fair, ya know?" He said, sad.

"What's wrong?" I asked, poking him.

"Nothing. Noothing at all."

"Yeah, right. That's your 'I'm not telling you' voice."

"You have chocolate on your face and I don't. It's good luck."

Morty started laughing, but he said, "You know, I can tell what you're trying to say," Will looked up. "They don't call me the 'Mystic Seer of the Future' for nothing." He then proceeded to say in an incredulous voice- "You like her, don't you!"

Will turned red and said, "Well, yeah, but, not like that! I like her because she's my friend."

"It's okay, I like you too." I said, doing my best to calm him down. Bubble was giggling and Evan, whom I had been trying to train, looked a little jealous.

"So, next stop, Ecruteak?" Morty said, standing up to pack away the tents.

"I think so, just as long as we can get there before the sun sets again. It's spooky traveling at night." Will said, finally calm again.

I then tried to do my best scary face and said, "You know, there are ghosts there…"

Will completely flipped out. Morty was laughing, and I was doing my best to stop from laughing.

"That's actually true. I'm a Ghost-type specialist. Of course, I'm guessing you knew that?"

"Yeah." Will said, still not convinced to not be scared. "I knew that. I was just, er, nervous. That's it."

"Yeah, right. Let's go!" I said, and we began to walk through the forest to Ecruteak.


	10. Chapter 10: Vs Doduo!

**Chapter 10: Vs. Doduo!**

The forest was rather poorly lit, so we made our way in relative silence.

"It wasn't this bad when I left the other day." Morty said, stepping over a particularly huge branch.

"Team Rocket probably flew their people over here. Those propellers were pretty loud." Will said, and tripped over a small nest. There were a few small Rattata in it. He picked them up and gently rocked them back and forth before catching them. "I'll take care of them, since they don't have a home anymore." He said, holding the three tiny Pokemon gingerly.

We kept walking through the woods, and it was evened out a lot sooner than I had thought it would. The sun shone brightly overhead, and Will cheered. Morty, however, looked rather disappointed. "Forests are cool. Temperature-wise, and in the more recent meaning of cool." He said.

"It's because you wear a sweater and a scarf." I said, trying to be helpful.

"I guess you're right, but I like these clothes." He said, looking at the hem of the scarf. "They were my Dad's." He looked ahead, obviously attempting to change the subject.

"Hey! We're nearly there, guys." He pointed to a huge, red and black gate. It was surrounded by a grove of Teak trees. The gate itself had old letters carved into it. The gate was a tall, red rectangle, which had several areas where the black "roof" covered it, forming several smaller eaves. I could see a nest on one of the eaves.

"Bird Pokemon nest there. They're supposed to bring good luck. The gate says 'For as long as this gate stands, so will the Towers.'" Morty explained. "Although, It should be tower now, as opposed to the plural. The other tower burned down many years ago, about five hundred years back. It is said that the two towers each allowed a legendary bird to nest there. The Brass Tower was Lugia's and the Tin Tower, or Bell Tower, was Ho-oh's. When the Brass Tower burned down, it is said that three Pokemon that lived in there died, but as Ho-oh cleared the storming sky, they were revived, and they ran into three different directions, and were never seen again. Well, until recently. That's why I left- my friend, Eusine, went looking for Suicune. Falkner wants to find Lugia, and I'm looking for Ho-oh. It's really important to me, so please, don't feel upset or anything. You guys are fun to talk to, too." He said, getting a bit embarrassed towards the end.

"Anyway, follow me! I'll give you the grand tour!" We walked through the gate and through a small passageway, lit by stone lanterns. The cobblestone pathway was neat and flat, as though it had just been paved. On the edges, there were raised bricks, forming a sort of sidewalk. The grass was neatly cut nearby the road. The houses were evenly placed, all small, but beautiful structures- they all had thatched roofs and stone sides and sliding, rice-paper doors. The only modern-looking structures in sight were a Pokemon Center, a Pokemart, and the Gym, which had a purple sign in front of it. There was a single, huge pagoda, many times the size of Sprout Tower, and I was amazed I had not noticed it in Violet City. There were many golden bells hanging from the eaves that, although they swayed in the wind, did not make a sound. Nearby, on a raised platform, there was what was left of a tower- likely the Brass Tower- that looked charred and in shambles. The larger tower, I assumed was the Bell Tower or Tin Tower. There was a small building in front of it. It looked nearly as old as the towers themselves. Besides just that, there were also several traditional-looking houses that were much larger. I guessed that they were places for guests to stay. There was also a fairly large building with a light blue roof. The door wasn't a door at all- rather, it was a large doorway that contained several curtains, all green, and painted with more old characters.

"Those are the names of my sisters. Zuki, Naoko, Sayo, Miki, and Kuni. That's our house, my Mom is probably waiting for me." Near Bell Tower, there was a small but amazing well-kept pond. It had a small fountain in it, and I could see fish Pokemon swimming about in a lively manner below the surface.

"For a city, it's a bit small, but its home." Morty said, finishing with a rather happy note. We walked back to the large building, where a sign in front of it said, "Dance Theatre". Inside, the floor was covered with tatami mats and cushions, where there were some people sitting. However, there wasn't any actual dancing going on- instead, there was a battle.

"Leave here at one!" The one I recognized as Naoko, from earlier, was battling a Team Rocket grunt with an Espeon, the tiny purple thing from earlier. It glared at the grunt's Pokemon, a Doduo, which promptly fainted after a loud crashing sound filled the air. The grunt called back the Doduo and ran. The other girls clapped for her, before returning to practice their dance. It was a graceful, calm song, and they spun much slower than that grunt had. It was amazing to watch- the coordination between the sisters was really something different- I had never seen a group in synchronization like this.

When they had finished, they bowed to the audience, and they left.

"Sis, that was awesome!" Morty said, running onto the stage after the sliding doors to the theatre were closed. A large curtain, painted with scenes of forests and oceans, opened behind them, revealing a room, also floored with tatami mats, where a small fire sat. There was a closet, half-opened, and a table was sitting in the center of the room. A woman was operating an oven nearby. She looked more like the five girls nearby than Morty. A small area of the house had a bookshelf, which had a photo of a man that looked like Morty on it. There were flowers and other small gifts there, as though it was a shrine.

"Mom, I'm home!" Morty said, and the woman stood from where she had been watching the bread in the oven rising.

"Mortimer Jonathan Ecru. Where on earth have you been?" She said, her voice stern. Morty blushed. "Mom, call me Morty, not Mortimer. I told you before…"

"I told you before, call if you won't be home right away!"

"Didn't you hear! There was an attack on the stadium. It wouldn't have taken nearly as long if it hadn't been attacked."

"But why didn't you call? I would have sent someone, Eusine came looking for you, saying he thinks he got a lead on the Suicune and Ho-oh thing, and for once, you're not here. I'm telling you, they won't be coming back. The legendary Pokemon, that is. We made them angry in the past, you expect them to just forgive us like," She snapped a few times. "Like that?"

Naoko and Zuki had begun to make tea for us, and invited us to sit.

"When Mom's worried about us, she lets us have it when we get home." Naoko said.

"It can be scary. Like, terrifying." Zuki said, sipping the tea from the cup she had just poured. "Once, they had an actual Pokemon battle because we wouldn't judge who won. The repairs took weeks. He's also the only one brave enough to talk back."

"Once, she actually said, 'Be more like you sisters, why can't you just be more like them?'" Naoko added. "It was really scary what happened then."

"What happened?" Will said, as a particularly loud, "Five challengers! No less!" was yelled from the kitchen.

"You don't want to know." Another girl said, a small blue Pokemon following her. "Naoko, your clothes are washed." Naoko left the table and returned wearing a fairly normal outfit, a T-shirt with her name on it and jeans. Her hair was quite different, and I realized for the first time that they wore wigs with ornate decorations on them. Zuki, who had a clear view of the kitchen, placed her tea on the table, and said, "Bro won. Again."

"He's really been figuring out how to win. Mom and him are more like friends. All of us except for Kuni are younger than him, and if he wins, she gets mad at him. It's not for long, though." She smiled and said, "In the end, none of us can stay angry for long. We get along fairly well, and there are never any fights over the hallway or anything. And we're usually away from home, too. So when we're together, we don't spend the whole time fighting. It probably helps that we all can see the results of our actions." Morty walked in, followed by his mother, who was carrying a tray of rice. He walked over to the bookshelf and said something I couldn't hear.

"He was closest to Dad." The girl with the blue Pokemon said. She looked the oldest.

"You're Kuni, right?" Will said.

"Don't tell me, the magazines talked about them, too?" I said, placing my head on the table.

"Yeah! They're all very powerful. They did an interview once." I remembered a poster on Will's wall- rather, a collage of magazine clippings. It had all of them, standing with their Pokemon. Morty sat at the table, near Kuni. They said something in what I guessed was the old language all over the city. Then, their mother stood up and put a bowl of rice in front of the picture on the bookshelf. She sat back down, and continued serving rice to everyone else. I was rather bewildered by this whole situation, and Morty explained.

"It's here and in Violet city too, since both cities have really held onto their traditions. We keep a small area of the house dedicated to anyone not with us, whatever the definition may be. If they come back, then everything there that doesn't need replacing will be given to them."

Kuni said, somberly, "Our Dad, Jonathan, won't be coming back…"

The whole table fell into an awkward silence.

"I'm sorry." I said, head down. "I didn't mean to breach a topic like that."

"No, it's okay. It's more modern in New Bark Town, right? How do you like Ecruteak so far?" Morty said.

"It's awesome!" I said, happy that the conversation was no longer awkward.

There was a knock at the door. The family glanced around at each other before Morty stood and answered it.

"Oh, it's you, from the contest, right?" I heard him say.

"Yes. I heard that the Gym Leader, Morty, lives here. I presume I was correct." I heard a particularly familiar voice say.

Oh no, not him, here.

"You didn't come by earlier, right? One of the challengers that Mom had to turn away."

"I'm not here for a battle. Not yet at least. I would prefer information."

"Well, then, come in. We've just made some tea, and there's still room at the table."

Of course, that space was right next to me. My suspicions were correct. Ivan sat down at the only empty spot, next to me. He looked at me, a bit nervous, then looked at the other girls before turning away and looking down at his tea.

_No way… he can't be… nervous?_ I thought with a shock. Morty sat down on the other side of the table as his mother gave Ivan a bowl of rice.

"Yes, the Legendary Pokemon Entei. What can you tell me about it?" Ivan finally said, clutching the blue-and-red egg as though it was terrifying to entertain the idea of letting it go.

"Do you know the legend, of how the Pokemon in this world were created? In order to know more about it, you need to know the legend." Morty responded, standing up once more, and scanning the nearby bookshelves for some trace of a familiar, related title. He found the right book, a very old and ragged thing, and placed in on the table. He read aloud:

"Before there was the world as we knew it, there was a single trainer and his Pokemon, floating in space. They were a single unit, known as Arceus. Arceus, who was rather lonely, created Space, Time, and Darkness, or the three Goddesses and their Pokemon, who were also known as single units under the names Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina. Each of these got along until a power struggle arose. Arceus, in anger, created three more deities to keep them in check. They were the goddesses Shaymin and Cresselia, and the god Darkrai. At this time, Heatran was created to keep the still-forming world warm. In order to create more people to populate this world, they created Uxie, Mespirit, and Azelf to give them emotion, and Kyogre and Groudon to create a place to live. However, unlike the calm goddesses Uxie, Mespirit, and Azelf, the goddess Kyogre wanted the sea to be the biggest, and the god Groudon wanted the land to be biggest. Raquaza settled the dispute, and Jirachi, Latios, and Latias came into being during the brief peacetime. Manaphy was made in charge of the seas, and Raquaza settled into the sky. Ho-oh and Lugia were soon created, and two towers were built in their honor.

However, there were not any Pokemon on the earth yet, so Mew was created to allow for their creation. Humans befriended them, and they soon lived in harmony. One day, in the tower in honor of Lugia, three trainers and their three Pokemon were trapped in the fire that consumed it. The gods were amazed at their bravery in the face of danger and the three became the gods Entei and Raikou, and the goddess Suicune. Not too far away, three bird Pokemon, and their trainers, were also in great danger- one with ice, one with fire, and one with lightning gone wild. The three, too, were cast into the sky and became the goddesses Articuno and Moltres, and the god Zapdos.

Once the creation of what each one wanted was complete, they all separated, promising to meet again once a year. It is said that if a group of chosen trainers are together on the chosen day, each of these deities may grant them the right to raising one of their Pokemon, with the promise of releasing it into the world one day." He finished, closing the rather heavy book.

"The thing is, though, we have proof that these Pokemon, that they aren't just a legend. That they really do exist. In fact, if what my friend Eusine says is correct, Raikou, Entei, and Suicune are in the basement of Brass Tower at this very moment."

"What are they doing?"

"Planning. According to most legends, the meeting date falls somewhere around July 19th. We think that we may very well have the trainers this time. My sisters have been trying to predict if they are assembled, and so far, it all looks good. However…" Morty eyed the egg that Ivan was holding. "Some of them may have already chosen to act. Take good care of that egg." He stood and put the book back on the shelf. Dust flew about in the sudden replacement of the book. Morty sat back down at the table.

"What I'm trying to say is, is this: if those three are waiting for someone worthy of them. Someone worthy of being their trainer, someone with real courage and what they value. Latios," He said, gesturing to the egg, "Values someone with a sense of hard work and the success that can come from it. It also values belief in others." He said, his eyes resting, very seriously, on Ivan's eyes. The duo sat, as though in a staring contest, for several minutes before Ivan broke the contact. Ivan leapt up from where he sat, and his hand brushed against my hair. I blushed and turned away. Will glared at him; Morty just looked confused. I looked up, and Ivan was blushing, looking at me, as though shocked.

"What, do you want to battle me again?" I wasn't sure what tone of voice I had used. I was a little too shocked that he was actually looking at me, as though he had never seen a girl before, or, that he was truly seeing me for the first time.

I blushed, worse than I had already been.

"Now, what's wrong?" Morty said, slamming his hand on the table, or rather, slamming a chess board onto the table and making us jump. Will squeaked loudly and I nearly fell over. "Did I miss something?" He said, good-naturedly, obviously not aware of the moment that he had just interrupted.

But, there are some people you just can't stay angry with for long. Morty happened to be one of them. He and Will played chess long after Ivan's departure, and I remember Naoko bringing me a blanket, telling me I should sleep because it was really late, and it's silly how boys argue over a game of chess.

I woke up in an unfamiliar place, the sounds of old rock music playing lightly through the wall. The room I was in was painted a light beige, but the wall I was facing had a mural of beautiful fall leaves. That's when it dawned on me that the sound wasn't coming from a speaker on the other side of the wall, but from a pair of headphones. I looked across the room, and Will had woken up, aware of the sudden appearance of another person.

It was Morty, painting the wall.

"That's what the city looks like, in the fall at least." He said, turning off the small radio he was listening to. "I didn't mean to wake you all." He quickly put the brush away and tried the drag the box of paints out of sight, but we were already awake.

"I really am sorry, it's just… When I'm nervous, I come in here and try to paint what I can see. This will be a good autumn, I hope." He looked at it, as though trying to tell what to add next. "I tried to have Brass Tower as it was when it was built, with Ho-oh and Lugia there. But… I don't know what they look like. It's a difficult job. There have been so many different renderings of it, but they all stay the same- the same multicolored wings that glow with the fire of its spirit, the blue spikes that shimmer like the sea. I just wish that I could see them in person. That's why I'm going to the tower today. If Eusine can gain the trust of Suicune, then maybe I can find Ho-oh."

"You think so?" Will said, surprised.

"Yeah. But I can't even see whether or not. Normally, if this was someone else, I could see. But today, everything is cloudy. I think something's going to happen today, and our actions are so vital to it that if we made one tiny change, it could alter the fate of the world." He said, doing his best to stay calm. "It was like this on _that_ day too…" He spoke in a sad voice. There was a knock at the door, and the voice on the other side said, "Hurry up! Falkner's almost here!" It sounded excited but exasperated, as though they had been trying to leave for several hours. Morty opened the door, and on the other side stood a rather strange, but well-dressed, man. He didn't look much older than Morty, and wore a purple suit with a diamond pattern and a white cape.

"Come on! We've got Pokemon to see and places to be!" He said, a rather strange-looking Jumpluff hopping around behind him. It had an odd look on its face, as though it was annoyed. Morty ran out of the room and came back a few minutes later, wearing what he had been wearing yesterday. I took my clothes from my bag and went into another room. When I came back out, Morty and the other guy were standing the entrance way of the house, waiting.

"I'm telling you, Eusine, I can't see anything in the future today. Yesterday, I tried to see what would happen, but nothing's appearing." Morty said.

"I hope we can get this sorted out." The man that I guessed was Eusine said. "I think that if my research is correct, Suicune, Entei, and Raikou are waiting. I don't know for what or whom, but it's dangerous to go there alone. The Brass Tower is badly burned, you know that. If a board were to break, the person that fell would be there until someone would find them."

There was another knock at the door, and Falkner walked in. Morty noticed Will and I standing in the doorway.

"Is everyone here?" He said.

"Well, my sisters didn't want to come. I think they're practicing for the Meeting Day dance. It's really important to them, they keep saying that they have to practice it, that I wouldn't understand until they perform, et cetera." Morty said. Though his words were sarcastic and a bit harsh, he said them in a kind voice, and I saw Naoko smile and nod from the hallway, a gesture directed to him.

"Well, then, let's be off!" Eusine said, and the Jumpluff spun before leading the way out the door.

* * *

><p>AN: Yes, it's done! (Yay.)

Thank you for waiting. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was a little tough to write. (Especially that book.) Please R+R!

Also, I lost my PIN drive, which had this chapter (Through chapter 12) on it a few weeks back, so I was very happy that I had saved a version of all the chapters on my computer...

Anyhoo, enjoy it. I think the chapters I lost are actually better now, though. (haha)


	11. Chapter 11: Vs Haunter!

**Chapter 11: Vs. Haunter!**

We walked through the city in the morning sunlight. Very few people were walking around, and Eusine was doing a good job of keeping everyone else quiet out of respect- he kept talking about finding Suicune and the others. Will rolled his eyes at him, and Morty looked at me and whispered, "Let him talk, he'll get tired eventually." He didn't, though, and talked until we reached Brass Tower. We walked inside, and inside, stood what was probably once one of the most majestic buildings in the world. Only one floor was able to be accessed, with the basement below. Ancient brass plaques stood on the walls, and there were fallen rocks and planks about.

"That's odd, there are normally a ton of wild Pokemon at this time in the morning." Falkner said, looking around wildly. I strained my ears and could scarcely hear it- but there were voices below, as though people were talking. I caught snippets of the conversation.

"I'm telling you, we're running out of time."

"But make your choice with due consideration."

"They've finally all gathered…"

"Entei, I think our conversation is being listened in on." Eusine gasped.

"No matter, they probably don't know."

"Nonetheless…"

Three huge beasts leaped into the air and landed in front of us. One growled.

"Eusine, it's… Them." Falkner said, unable to say much else. I saw the look in their eyes- much more intense than normal Pokemon. I knew immediately that that legend must be true.

I bowed, and I saw that the others had followed suit.

The blue beast approached us and said, "You may stand." We stood up, and it nodded before leaping out of the hole in the roof. The yellow one followed it, and then the red one, with one final growl to us.

"W-What was that?" Will finally said.

"I-I think… We just met… The three legendary Pokemon of Johto." Falkner said, his voice shaking. I was shocked, but not overly surprised- the sense as though there was someone important here had not faded. I took a step back from the hole in the floor and looked at the building around me. Not a single board had been misplaced or moved. None of the three had moved anything.

There was a sound of coughing. Ash was stirred as a boy with particularly vibrant red hair poked his head out from under a board, where a ladder was. It was Ivan, yet again.

"Are you, like, reverse stalking me or something?" I asked, a hint of laughter in my voice.

"Rather, are you stalking me?" He said, with annoyance.

"Nope, perhaps just at the same place?" I replied. He climbed up the ladder. Covered in the ancient soot of the place, he looked really funny. Replacing the board over the ladder took some time, but once it was replaced, the only way to reach the floor below was the jump through the hole in the ground.

"If you're going to battle, please battle outside. This place has been destroyed enough." Morty said, and he walked outside. I took that to mean a challenge, so I grabbed Leafy and ran outside.

"Fire blast, now!" Was the first command given, so I had Leafy dodge and follow with magical leaf. The hole in the leaf it had was even bigger now, and it looked painful. I called it back and put some potion on the leaf.

"Okay, Evan! Let's go!" I threw the ball, and the tiny, fox-like creature leapt out.

"Shadow ball, now!" It growled and threw a ball of energy at Flame. It rammed into it and exploded into purple specks.

"Okay, take down, got it!" Ivan yelled, and Flame rammed at top speed into Evan. Evan retaliated by using iron tail, a move I hadn't been aware of. Flame skidded backwards and Ivan called it back. Next was Sneasle. It used a move I recognized- Return. It was super-effective, and I was shocked. Had he really changed his ways? But next was the Zubat, Zoom, and I was corrected.

"Frustration, go!" The Zubat flew forward and rammed into Evan, whom I had yet to switch out.

"Evan! Come back!" I called it back and sent out Blaze. "Use fire spin!"

"Zoom, supersonic!" The two attacks collided and flew back at their senders. Ivan called back Zoom.

"Hmph. I'll count my losses." He turned around.

"Ivan! Wait!" I called to him, and he turned. He looked me in the eyes before saying, "What?" in an annoyed tone.

"Where are you going now?"

"To train. We'll meet again, don't go panicking. I'll beat you next time."

I nodded and waved. He turned and held up a hand to signal a goodbye.

Will was clapping excitedly, and Falkner was clapping too. Morty was just sort of looking at me, shocked. Eusine looked at me, as though triumphant.

"Finally! A worthy opponent to Suicune!" He announced.

"Eh?"

"Suicune has taken a liking to you, I can tell that. But I've been looking for Suicune my whole life! I'll keep looking for it! You should too!" The Jumpluff that had been following him around leaped into the sky and began to float. He jumped up and grabbed its foot, and the duo took off into the sky.

"Farewell, you all! I'm off!"

"Honestly, I've just sort of stopped asking." Falkner said, as Eusine flew out of sight.

"That's probably a good thing." Morty responded dully. "You sort of get used to it, I guess."

I just looked at the sky, with a sort of dumbfounded look on my face. Will was looking up at the sky, equally confused.

Then we all looked back down at each other and started laughing.

"I don't know why he's like that at all!" Morty said, doing his very best to make the words understandable. After we had calmed down, we walked back to the dance theatre, and I saw something amazing.

It was different from the dance from before- this one was even slower. The Pokemon that they owned were dancing in synchronization. They were in such perfect time it was nearly eerie to watch. When they had finished, the theatre erupted with applause, and they bowed with the utmost calm.

"Thank you very much for watching. We still need to practice, though. This will be today's only performance. Thank you for stopping by." The crowd filed out and the stage underwent the same transformation it had yesterday.

"Naoko, you missed three steps. Zuki, you clapped your hands at the wrong time. Miki, Sayo, you two were okay, but you need more expression during the faster parts." Kuni said, but she didn't say it angrily, rather, she said it desperately.

"You know when we need to leave. Each of us. We can't hope to learn it at this rate, we're running out of time." Zuki murmured. She added, "Kuni, you forgot to clap a few times."

"I know, but I was so focused on everyone else. The people that we'll be performing for are so much more powerful than your average person. If we mess up, who knows what might happen."

"You're right, but it's just so scary!" Miki said, holding the small Flareon close to her.

"What are you talking about? Why are you all freaked out?" Morty said, clearly upset at the level of stress placed on his sisters.

Kuni glared at him.

"You don't understand, you won't understand, not until we have to perform it! Now go back to your Gym Leader mindset and let us practice!" Yelling, she walked across the room and had poked him several times before he had put up his hands in defense. He carefully made his way back into the house behind them, slamming the sliding door.

"She's never been like that in the past. I don't know what's going on at all…" He lost focus for a moment or two before lifting his head and saying, solemnly, "I still can't see anything. That might be why they're nervous, they can't see how they're going to do."

Falkner blinked and motioned for us to sit.

"He's just nervous."

I sat across from Morty, whom had yet to recover. Will settled next to me, and Falkner sat across from him.

"Calm down. You're freaking us all out." He said, and the music that had been playing before began to play again. It was accompanied by several deliberate claps, before it was paused and the scolding began again. Finally, Miki yelled, "Let's take a break. Those steps are driving us nuts." She walked in and apologized to all of us before taking an energy drink from the cabinet and walking back outside.

A few minutes afterwards, Morty's mother walked in, carrying several bags of groceries. She began to sort them before poking Morty a few times to wake him up.

"I got macaroni and cheese." She said, shaking the box. He nearly fell over with shock.

"No way, seriously?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" She said, placing a saucepan on the stove. He stood and walked over to her.

"Mom, you were a Kimono Girl until Zuki could take over, right?" He asked. "Do you know what's going on, then?"

She sighed, then waited a few minutes before finally responding with, "I don't know why, but it's a very old, ancient dance. It's only usually performed at festivals and such, but this rendition of it is very difficult. The last time it was officially performed was the last year both Ho-oh and Lugia roosted at the towers." She stirred the noodles. "And by the way, these noodles were not brought by mind-reading or future-seeing. They were brought about by the PokeGear. Which I wish you would actually use sometimes!" The words were harsh, but she said them laughing. "But you all… You depend too much on what you can and cannot see. If you stop trying to see it, it'll make sense," She finished, walking out onto the stage and shutting the door behind her.

Suddenly, Morty turned to Will and I and grinned, as though he had been shocked by a sudden epiphany.

"Hey, you two are going for gym badges, right?" He said. Falkner practically slapped himself in the face.

"You just now realized that?" He said. "You are _so _dense."

"Excuse me?" Morty said, leaping up.

"I just said, 'you are so dense.'"

"Come at me, bro!" Morty challenged, imitating the pose perfectly.

"What? No!"

"I said, come at me, bro!"

"No."

"Come at me-!"

"Shut up, will you?"

Will handed Morty his trainer case.

"Not battling with whatever got you the badge from Cianwood, I hope?" Morty said, cautiously.

"Nope!" Will replied. "I'm going to rely on my own team."

"All right, after we eat, let's go battle!" Morty said, handing plates of macaroni to everyone.

"Ever since you were a kid…" Falkner said, once again trying to embarrass him.

"Yeah, what of it?"

Plan failed.

A few moments later, we were standing in the oddly decorated Ecruteak gym. The floor was made of glass, and it was dark inside, lit only by the occasional flare from the purple-colored dry ice below or from the candles. I saw that there was a wooden path.

"If you step on the glass, you'll get sent back to the beginning, so be careful. Good luck!" Morty said, and with a final wave, he walked into the shadows to what I assumed was the platform. Will went ahead first, not afraid, but I was pretty scared. The dry ice was making weird noises when it flared, and I couldn't see very far ahead of me. I hid my face in Will's backpack and hoped he knew where he was going. We made it to Morty on the first try, if not by sheer luck.

"Which one of you wants to battle me first?" Morty asked, the glass floor making him appear to levitate.

"I-I'll go first!" I said, voice shaking.

"No way! If you're scared, I'll go first!" Will replied, taking out Total's Pokeball.

"I-I can do it!" I argued. "It doesn't matter! I-I can do this!"

"I can do a double battle, if you really want me to." Morty said, laughing. "Although, just because I like you guys doesn't mean I'll be easy to beat." He called to a Haunter that floated through the floor. He also brought out the Gengar from before. I called out Blaze, and Will battled with Bubble.

"Okay, Haunter, Astonish!" The purple ghost turned invisible and snuck up on Bubble. When it reappeared, Bubble leaped into the air, terrified.

"Gengar, Night shade!" I remembered from before how powerful that attack was.

"Blaze! Run, quick!" But it wasn't any use- it hit Blaze, and she ran in a circle until she calmed down.

"Ember, quick!"

"Bubble, use bubble beam!"

The two attacks formed a single beam, and they went after Haunter. It rammed into the ghost, but not much damage was done. A few more attacks were exchanged, and again, not much happened.

"Er, perhaps a single battle would be better?" Morty asked, withdrawing the Haunter (which had gotten a status ailment).

"Yeah." Will responded, sounding a bit dejected.

"I'll go first!" I said, this time sure of myself.

"Okay, Leafy, use earthquake!" Leafy pounded the ground with its heavy paws. Morty and Gengar, however, were not impressed.

"You do know that won't do too much, right?" He said.

"That wasn't my point. Try to look around you!" I responded. I could barely see, as the candles had gone out. The small tremors had also caused the dry ice machine to stop working, allowing for total darkness to engulf the arena.

"Leafy! Magical leaf!" I saw the glowing leaves zoom through the darkness to their target. "If you can't see, then you can't attack!"

"That's a good idea! I can't say many people have thought of that." He said, sounding a bit impressed. There were several attempts to use other attacks from both of us, but neither side made any progress.

"Okay, magical leaf… again!" I saw Leafy's leaf glowing many colors as it swung twice the amount of leaves toward the Gengar.

"Gengar, hypnosis!" Morty yelled. The yellow beam flew through the darkness and hit Leafy, whom I had not yet told to move. It hit Leafy, and it suddenly fell asleep.

"Leafy! Switch out!" I called it back and sent out Togii.

"Togii, use metronome!" I called, and then whispered to it, "And don't stop moving! Keep running!"

It must have used a powerful attack, like double-edge, because I had never seen it use something like that before. It lit up the arena, and I could see that there was something… off about the Gengar.

"Drain punch!" Togii raced forward, one arm extended, and slammed into its opponent. Then it shattered.

"What?" I screamed. I hadn't intended to do _that._

"Substitute. When I saw that Gengar was getting low on health, I had it use this to save it some trouble." Morty replied, calmly relighting the candle nearby.

"I think it's safe to say that you've won." He said, as though he had known all along.

"But then again, I suppose I knew that I'd lose twice today." He smiled at Will as he stepped off the platform.

"Here." He handed me a small, shiny badge, shaped like a ghost. "It's the fog badge. It lets you use surf and all that. You're tired of hearing all this by now, aren't you?" He congratulated me, a genuine smile on his face.

"Now, Will, right?" He said, approaching him. "Get ready to battle. I might have said I'd lose twice today, but that doesn't mean the only challengers are you two."

"Ready when you are!"


	12. Chapter 12: Vs Misdreavus!

**Chapter 12: Vs. Misdreavus!f**

Will began with Bubble. "Bubble, use surf!"

Morty chose Mini quickly. "Astonish, quickly!" Mini rushed forward, but ran into the wave. It floated backwards, shook its head, and rushed into Bubble with a scary look on its face. Bubble jumped, frightened, and ran in a circle a few times before regaining its composure.

"Okay, Bubble! Use a whirling bubble-beam!" Bubble leaped into the air, in a pirouette, and used bubble-beam. The candles slowly faded as the various bubbles rammed into the flames.

"No luck there! Mini, use Will-o-wisp!" The Misdreavus cried out and flames shot from its hair. The candles were immediately relit.

"Darn. Okay! Bubble! Use Take Down!" Bubble raced forward and rammed at Mini at full force.

"Okay, now use Hyper Beam!"

"Right back at it!"

The two attacks collided in mid-air, and energy ripped through the room. The light from the combined beams was too bright to look at, so I blocked my eyes with my hand.

When the light finally faded, Will was standing triumphantly, with a rather exhausted Bubble by his side, with Mini lightly floating behind Morty.

"Well, I guess that's it! Congratulations." Morty said, once again smiling genuinely, handing a fog badge to Will. "It's great you already have Surf. It'll make things easier for you. You two are going to Cianwood now, right?" A chandelier above them suddenly lit up, causing the darkness to fade. We began to walk along the wooden path, and back outside.

"You're not coming with us?" Will said, sounding rather sad.

"I'll have to ask. Eusine can't, he's off searching for Suicune again. My sisters can't, I'm not about to ask them to what with all of that going on earlier. I guess Mom could, but that might not be the best idea."

"Why?" I asked.

"No. Type. Choice." He said simply, putting his hands up in the air in an "It's anyone's guess" pose. We walked to the house in silence after that. We were greeted at the door by his mother, who automatically said, holding up a backpack, "Go ahead and go with them. I've already got your stuff together, but there's one more thing, that I couldn't put in there." Morty adjusted his scarf as his mother looked around the room until she found a small, golden object with clear glass in the middle.

"It's your father's." She said, placing it firmly in his hand. "Take it with you. It'll help you get your powers back. I know what it's like to be unable to see the future, so don't worry."

He took the brooch from her, and he turned it over in his hand, staring at the shiny glass.

"There! J-Just now! It was Ho-oh!" He suddenly yelled, and Naoko raced in from where they were practicing. She grabbed his hand, with the brooch still in it, and stared at it. I saw a faint rush of a rainbow-colored wing.

"It was! That means… Oh dear!" She dropped his hand and ran back out, and there was a sound of yelling and the music was playing loudly.

"Well, don't worry, Morty. I'll take care of the gym. But there'll be some redecoration."

"Mom!" Morty said, sounding as though the redecoration of the gym was some sort of major injustice, like being denied a piece of cake because he was the only son or something.

"You can't have a fair battle in there! Someone could put out the fire in the candles, and BAM! It's not a fair battle." She said.

Both Will and I raised our hands, and Morty smiled at us.

We left through the western exit of the city, and the ancient buildings broke away into a large plain with a smaller forest near the city and a farmhouse not too far off. From far away, I could smell the salty air of the sea. The waves were breaking on the far-off shore. The late afternoon sun glittered on what I could see of the water.

"This is this close by to Ecruteak City?" I asked, bewildered.

"Yeah. Why do you think I had that surfer-ish outfit from before?" Morty answered. "Also, That's a farm over there, they have Miltank milk there." Morty said, pointing to the building. "But lately, one of them has been sick. I wonder if it's doing any better." As we made our way along the dirt path, it split into several directions.

"Don't get lost. I would take the path with the fence." He pointed the one that was fenced in. "It leads straight to the farm." We walked down the fenced path and walked along the road to the farm. Upon walking inside the gate, I saw that there were two separate houses; one was a barn and the other was the farmhouse. There was also a field with some apricorns (Which Will promptly collected) and several Miltank milling about among the silos. I walked into the barn door, which was opened. Inside there was an old-looking, sickly Miltank, with two young girls standing near it, trying to comfort it.

"Mimi! The berries." Will said, pointing to my backpack. I removed the jars and placed three Oran berries in front of the Miltank. It rolled forward and ate them. The Miltank looked younger and healthier almost immediately.

"Thank you!" One of the girls said, not two seconds after it began to walk around again. The other one held out a case to me. It looked like a trainer case, but a bit different.

"It's a seal case." She said. She didn't elaborate any further, so I put the jars that the berries were in back into my backpack.

"What just happened, exactly?" Morty asked.

"I really don't know." I replied. Will took the case from me and pressed a button. It popped open and there were several indents, and in a few, there were sticker-like objects. Will took a few (The ones that looked like bubbles) and placed them on Bubble's PokeBall. He called it back, then released it again. However, it was surrounded by bubbles as it appeared in front of us.

"That's what seals do. They cause shapes to appear when you bring out a Pokemon."

"Impromptu explanation? Okay, okay." Morty said, walking over to another fork in the road. "This is the way. It's getting sort of late though."

"You're right." Will said, looking at his watch. "We should set up camp."

"You're not putting up the tent this time, Will." I said, joking. "I'll do it."

About ten minutes later, (And with a lot of help from the instructions) I had managed to set up the three tents properly.

Several _very_ creepy ghost stories later, I was attempting to sleep in my own tent. Eventually, I heard footsteps. The door-flap of my tent opened. I squeaked.

But it was just Will.

"H-hey. I am thoroughly freaked out. Can I-?"

"Stay in here? Yes. I'm scared too."

He put down his sleeping bag near me (a respectful distance away, though,) and tried to sleep. The snoring was obviously fake.

Then more footsteps. And the wind blew. And twigs broke. The tent flap opened to a shadowy shape.

"Boo!"

Will and I screamed really loudly in synchronization. The tent flap fell back into place and there was the sound of hysterical laughter just outside the shelter of the tent.

"Hahaha! G-G-Gengar! Pffft! Haha! I-I-I I c-can't believe t-th-that- Haha! They-haha!"

After I managed to catch my breath, I saw Will looking darkly in the direction of the laughter.

"What just happened?" I asked, after I realized it wasn't the ghost of Ben.

"Morty happened." He stood, and walked out of the tent, Bubble following behind him, both with angry looks.

I heard several loud bouncing sounds, each accompanied by an "ow!" from outside.

Will walked back in, looking rather satisfied.

The next morning, we arrived on Olivine's coast, or rather, the cliffs of the coast. As we walked along the rocky edges, Morty noticed someone standing a few yards away. He lost focus for a moment, then ran forward. He was within a few feet when the cliff crumbled beneath the person's feet. They screamed, but Morty grabbed their hand.

"Jasmine, are you okay? You should be more careful." He pulled her back up onto the cliff. Will and I ran over to her. She had long brown hair, with two small pigtails on the top of her head. She wore a white jacket, a sea-green dress with an orange bow, and a pair of sandals.

"Thanks for that. There've been rumors that the cliffs are unstable, and well, now we know!" She said, standing back up. "Anyway, I think we've found the cause." She walked back to the edge of the cliff, but called on a Magneton to support her, and she levitated out over the waves.

"There's a bunch of Digletts and Dugtrios here." She explained, pointing. "The tunnels they make are creating caverns on the Cliffside, and the soil has difficulty staying together."

"Can you get rid of them, or will that be a problem?" Will asked. "Ground-types are weak to Water-types. I could get them to leave easily."

"I think we can get rid of them, but some people in town wanted to catch them. They think they're cute." Jasmine stated.

"Well, that's true, and the question of what they actually look like. Even if they're on a table, they're still in that hole-ish thing."

"It is quite strange…"

"We're getting off topic here." Morty interjected, thoroughly unimpressed.

"Well, then, I'll catch some, while we're here." I added.

"Total, Water Gun!"

"Mini, Astonish!"

"Leafy, Earthquake!"

We were battling the colony of Digletts and allowing various people from around the City to catch them.

"There's the last one!" Jasmine pointed to a small one, looking quite scared.

"I've got this one!" I yelled, and I threw an Ultra Ball from my viewpoint, hang-gliding on Sora. It shook a few times before sitting still. "I'll call it… Er… Giggle!"

"What kind of name is _that_?" Ivan had arrived.

"Ivan? When'd you get here?" I yelled.

"I see I'm too late for the Diglett invasion."

"Just a bit. Here, you can have it."

"Great, just great. A Diglett named Giggle." He sighed.

Will then said an internet acronym. Although it was said like, "Lawlwhat."

Later, Jasmine approached us in the middle of a shopping exploration in the nearby department store.

"Um, excuse me, everyone, but I need to ask you a favor. Can you please go to Cianwood City and buy some medicine for Amphy? It was a little sick before, but now I think it's really ill." She explained. "This is what I need, so if you wouldn't mind…" She held out a piece of paper. Will took it and read the paper. "AncientPotion? What's that?"

"It's a very old type of potion that can cure any ailment a Pokemon has, as though it never happened to them. It's a very dangerous thing to carry, so there's only one place to get it. I can't leave Amphy for long, and it'd take me some time to get to Cianwood. And besides, I think you'd prefer to battle Chuck and visit the Safari Zone than stay around here for a long time."

"Actually, I've got the badge already. Mimi probably wants to battle him, though."

"Definitely!" I said, Leafy growled excitedly.

"Then, let's go! Amphy'll need that soon." Morty said, obviously ready to leave the department store. I nodded, and soon we were heading to the beach.

Current Status:

Mimi

Trainer Class: Lass

Team:

Leafy/ Meganium

Level 25

Sora/ Noctowl

Level 23

Togii/Togepi

Level 19

Evan/Eevee

Level 20

Blaze/Rapidash

Level 26

Will

Trainer Class: Breeder

Team:

Total/Totodile

Level 20

Row/Fearow

Level 30 (Transferred along with the Digletts they caught.)

Bubble/Maril

Level 29

Diggens/Diglett

Level 9

Morty

Trainer Class: Gym Leader

Team:

Mini/Misdreavus

Level 25

Gen/Gengar

Level 50

Drift/Drifloon

Level 20

Lantern/Haunter

Level 30

Chandler/Chandelure

Level 15

Alyssa

Trainer Class: Battle Girl

Team:

Icicle/Empoleon

Level 70

Glam/Glameow

Level 54

Glacier/Glaceon

Level 50

Star/Staraptor

Level 64

Hiroyuki/Bibarel

Level 55

Shinku/Luxray

Level 60

Maya

Trainer Class: Coordinator

Team:

Swampy/Swampert

Level 50

Kitty/Skitty

Level 48

Mighty/Mightyena

Level 58

Rhine/Rhyhorn

Level 53

Swell/Swellow

Level 52

Pika/Pikachu

Level 50

Kate

Trainer Class: Champion

Team:

Inferno/Typhlosion

Level 70

Farfalle/Butterfree

Level 68

Schwarz/Gengar

Level 65

Poly/Porygon Z

Level 60

Storm/Fearow

Level 70

Scythe/Scyther

Level 79

Rosette:

Trainer Class: Parasol Girl

Team:

Smugleaf/Snivy

Level 16

Lace/Miccino

Level 10

Silk/Purrloin

Level 20

Swan/Swanna

Level 50

Stripe/Blitzle

Level 20

Lolita/Gothita

Level 15

Crys/Vanillish

Level 55

Rosaline:

Trainer Class: Triathlete

Team:

Bocchan/Serperior

Level 68

Tidal/Simipour

Level 68

Darmy/Darmanitan

Level 65

Jet/Braviary

Level 60

Seraph/Zoroark

Level 59

Whim/Whimsicot

Level 50

A/N:

Had to do some retconning with the levels here. Since Red has a whole bunch of level 80's, by the time we got to finally battle him, he'd have to have a team of level 50-millions to seem threatening (Which we can't do, that'd break all laws of logic.) So, everyone has levels that make much more sense now.


	13. Chapter 13: Vs Mantine!

**Chapter 13: Vs. Gengar!**

"Okay, we found one!" Will yelled to me. I was still looking up and down the beach for a water Pokemon. Will was going to use Bubble to cross through to Cianwood, but Morty and I lacked a water-type. I was still looking for one when I heard the sounds of a battle. The charp zooming and metallic ringing of a capture. There were sounds of cheering.

"Darn! I lost!" I muttered, still searching for a Pokemon. "Mimi! Don't worry! It's a Mantine, see?" Morty pointed to a rather large, floating manta in the water. It splashed and looked at us happily. It could carry five people without tiring itself out.

"Okay then, let's go." I said, feeling defeated. Will placed his hat on my head. Whenever we had played a game when we were younger, and he had beaten me, he had done that to comfort me.

I sat on one of the Mantine's fins and Will sat near me. Morty pointed in the direction of Cianwood, and it zoomed to our destination.

Slowing down from what was the equivalent of the speed of a motorboat, we floated between the nearby Whirl Islands, where whirlpools were raging, and Cianwood City. Then the Mantine turned near a dock and stood still. Will leaped off the Mantine. I climbed up onto the dock, followed by Morty. Will was rolling around on the dock, yelling, "Land!"

"Don't fall off!" I scolded, as he rammed into my ankle. I turned to the sea, then looked at the sky, and then turned back around. Will had disappeared to somewhere. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called him.

"Where are you!" I said, upset.

"I went to the pharmacy, to get the medicine for Amphy." He replied calmly. I heard him thanking someone, the sound of a cash register, and saw a shadow move out of a building.

"I'm going to fly it back now, Mimi."

"But how did you get Row back?"

"I asked Grandma to transfer it to me. So, yeah."

"Oh, all right then. Get back as soon as you can!" I said, bringing out Leafy to walk around and see the ocean.

"All right!" He snapped the phone shut and flew off into the sky, waving to us. I waved back, closing my phone.

After an awkward minute or two of standing on the dock, waving to Will as he flew off, Morty said, "Follow me," and walked towards the city. However, upon reaching the smaller houses, he turned abruptly and walked along a sidewalk, passing by an automatic camera and some fish drying.

"Have you ever been to route 47 before?" He asked, pointing to a cave.

"No, I've never even been to Cianwood before." I replied, looking around.

"Come on, then! It's really cool!" He ran into the cave. I followed him and was a bit shocked to see that it was well-lit. A bored-looking lady was sitting behind a desk with a sign above it that said, "Safari Zone this way!" and pointing up several tiered stairs. A pool of water was below the stairs.

After climbing up the strange terrain, I blinked at the sudden amount of light from the sun on this side. The cliffs of Olivine were nothing compared to this- there were steep inclines, and many caves and bridges. But the water was such a pretty blue…

"It's amazing…" I managed to say, Evan jumping up and down, as if to tell me to start moving.

"There's only a little tall grass on this route, but trainers like to stay here. There's another cave up ahead, and there are ladders in it. If you go down the ladder, you end up in the sea, and if you go up the ladder, you keep going around the route."

"I want to go to the sea!" I said, excited. I had never seen water this blue, and it was cool and exciting. It was amazing how close to a city it was.

"Okay then, the sea it is!"

We walked over to the cave, only to be nearly crashed into by Will.

"Sorry! I was looking for you guys, and, well, here I am!" He said in a triumphant sounding voice.

"Hello, Will." Morty said, as though nearly being tackled from the sky by a Fearow was a perfectly normal occurrence (Although, since he's friends with Falkner and Eusine, this may have been a normal thing.)

"So, what is this place?" Will asked.

"It's route 47." I answered. "We were heading to the sea now."

"The sea? Awesome!"

"We sort of just spent an hour surfing over the sea, but whatever." Morty said. "The cave is this way!"

We found the cave, then climbed down the ladder.

"This way. Past those weird looking rocks." Pointing again. There were several lighter rocks that did look rather odd, almost like columns, but it didn't connect the ceiling and floor. Then the cave closed into a small opening, which end-of-day sunlight was pouring into. We proceeded through the exit. I blinked several times before I looked all around, amazed. There were many other huge cliffs, with bridges over-arching, a few waterfalls, and some sheer cliffs with caves atop them, but no other method of entrance.

"_This_ is Route 47. Well, what it should be." Morty said, sitting on the sand. "There's lots of Pokemon around, so explore if you want. I'll set up camp over here."

"Shell-finding challenge!" Will yelled.

"You're on!" I yelled back.

"There's a bunch over there. They're really cool, too… Aand he's gone. Well, someone's gotta have an advantage, right?" Morty suggested. "Good luck." He leaned back on his backpack.

"Thanks!" I called, and ran off after Will. I turned at the place that Morty had pointed at and found a whole bunch of them, in a haphazard pile, traced with lines of the ocean. I saw that someone had scratched into the wall, "low tide sandbar."

"Well, a time limit!" I picked up as many as I could carry, and got Evan to hold a few in a pouch. I arrived back at our campsite just as Will was returning, awkwardly carrying several handfuls of shells.

"So, who won?" Morty said, looking up from a book he was reading.

"I have no idea!" Will exclaimed. "Let's count them." He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and dropped the shells he found onto it. I listened until he got to about 20, then I began counting myself.

"29, 30, 31…"

"Done!" Will announced. "Grand total is 58!"

"58 here, too." I said, handing Evan his scarf back.

"So, a tie?"

"Hey, look. Jasmine sent cake." Morty said, rather unfazed as a small group of Magnemite came forward, carrying a small crate.

"It says, 'Thank you for helping Amphy. When you are ready to battle, come by the Gym. I'll be ready!'" Will read.

"What made you the official note reader?" I asked, just a bit annoyed.

"I don't know, I just get there first."

I sighed, unable to argue anything with that.

"But is it really cake?" Morty wondered, removing the twine from the box. Then Will grabbed the top of the box and looked inside.

"Morty, you know what this means, right?" He asked, a sly look on his face.

"What does this mean- OH."

"THE CAKE IS A LIE." They both announced in perfect harmony.

"Oh my gosh. Really, you guys?" I said, trying to keep from laughing.

"Mimi, you're smiling. Hm…" Will thought for a moment before announcing, "Double rainbow. All. The. Way. Across. The Sky."

_Don't laugh don't laugh don't laugh…_

"Pfft! Haha! Hahaa!" I started giggling. I couldn't help it. But Will only did that when he thought I was troubled, or when he was trying to win me over for some reason. So, I was a little worried.

"W-Will, are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine! Why?" He replied, too quickly, almost suspiciously…

"Nothing." I said, smiling, and turned to go sit by myself for a minute or two. I heard Will excuse himself, walk into his tent, and the light inside soon went out. I heard mumbling and finally, snoring.

"He did always fall asleep early." I thought. Then I realized, it was a night like this, when _that_ happened.

"Dad, please! Don't go!" I yelled, the summer wind full blast in my face. I was only 3, and this was happening. It was horrible. Rosaline had just come back with her fiancée, and he seemed really nice. He was tall, like her, and was kind to me, _and_ Kate, which surprised me. But Dad… He was going somewhere. I didn't like the idea.

"Please, don't go!"

"They've given me an offer I just can't say no to, so I have to go."

"But why?" I yelled. And he was taking his entire team with him.

He turned back and placed his hand on my head.

"One day, you'll become strong. I just know it. I'll see you again then. Your mother and I have it all worked out, and when they let me come home, I'll be on the first plane back. Okay?"

"But, but… Dad…" He turned to leave.

"I'll miss you, Mimi, and your sisters, and your mother… So be strong. For everyone."

"I'll miss you! A lot!"

"I'll do my best!"

I waved as furiously as possible, as he walked away…

He had said he would come back, but he never did.

I had always thought it was my fault, because I was the last person he talked to, and I could have stopped him, just maybe… When I told Kate, she never let me forget it.

"Mimi? Are you okay?" Morty's voice broke into my reverie. "You're crying."

"A-am I?" I asked, and I realized that I was. I wiped my eyes and sniffed.

"Can I sit here?" He asked, gesturing to a spot of sand near me.

"Sure, go ahead." I was trying to sound friendly, but I knew I sounded a little sarcastic. I had a tendency to do that when I was upset like this.

"Okay, then." He sat closer than I had anticipated, and looked at me. There was worry in his eyes. "Really. Are you okay?" He asked.

"N-not really." I said, hugging my knees to my chest. "I was remembering something… That happened on a night like this."

"I don't mean to pry, but can you tell me?" He asked. "It can make you feel better."

"Well… It's silly, really." I muttered. "When I was really little, my Dad left home. He was going somewhere, they wanted him because he was a powerful trainer. His name was Richard. He liked to train Ghost and Dark types, and he went off somewhere and never came back. He always said he would return, but he never did…!" I said, breaking off and hiding my face behind my knees.

I felt Morty put his arm around my shoulder. I jumped.

"S-sorry. If it bothers you, I won't…" He said, starting to pull back. I sat still, unable to do much of anything besides starting to cry.

"Hey… Hey. Don't cry." He hugged me. "Friends don't let friends cry. That was what Will was doing earlier, right? Trying to keep you from crying. I mean, what happened today was nothing compared to what you've had to deal with in the past. But, if you need to cry, I'm here for you."

"Y-You're so nice to me. Why? I'm just a silly kid with an unachievable dream."

"Well, what is it, then?"

"Well, you'll laugh. I know you will." I said, still trying not to cry.

"I-I want to battle… The All-Time Champion Red. He was someone I really looked up to, and I… just meeting him would be amazing. When I watched him battle on TV, the real battles, not just the TV show, I was always so amazed… I could almost feel the power of the attacks, the tension, and the bond between him and his team. It was so beautiful, and powerful, and… I'm rambling! I'm sorry."

"Dreams are funny things, Mimi. You know, the path to find a dream is tough. But the path to achieve it is even worse. Like… Will wants to become an excellent Pokemon breeder, right? I could tell from the way he takes care of that egg. I want to find Ho-oh. Will will have a hard time getting there, but when that one person calls him and says, 'please take care of my Pokemon for me' it will all have been worth it. And if I find Ho-oh, I'll feel like I've succeeded. And if you get to meet your idol, Red… Then you've really accomplished something. That's why we have goals. That's why people try to become strong. Are you okay now? I mean, are you done crying?"

"Yeah. Have you rehearsed that speech?" I asked, sitting back down. "I mean, it was awesome, but it sounded like it was from a self-help book or something.

"Did I sound that cheesy? Haha, no, I made it up right there. But it was all true. If we can get what we're looking for on this quest, no matter how much we've sacrificed, no matter how much we get hurt, it will have been worth it." He finished, sitting down again.

"I guess you're right." I said, as the wind blew past.

"Hey, that Eevee, it's… Evan, right? Are you trying to evolve it into an Umbreon?"

"Yeah, I guess. That's the Dark-type evolution, right?"

"Yeah. But guess how it has to evolve?"

"Maximum happiness, midnight, at least level 15. It looks like it's pretty happy with you, and it's at…"

"Level 20!" I yelled, jumping up.

"Well, then, how about a battle? It'll evolve pretty soon, it looks like."

"Sounds good!" Evan jumped up and ran over to me.

"Okay, Gengar! Let's go!"

"Evan! Use Iron Tail!" Evan ran forward and its fluffy tail began to glow silver. It crashed into the ghost-type.

"Okay, use tackle!" Morty yelled, and Gengar ran into Evan. Evan tottered, off-balance, before it suddenly glowed. Its ears became more rounded and its tail shrank, more compact. It lost its childish appearance and became much more streamlined. The light faded, and it was black with several yellow rings. It opened its eyes- bright red. It looked up to the moon and cried out its name- Umbreon.

"Okay! Great! Use…" I checked its moves in the Pokedex. "Faint attack!" Umber walked over to Gengar in an unaware manner, before lashing out, shocking the ghost-type.

"Gengar, use night shade!" It glared at Evan, and faded into its faint shadow. Umber shivered and cried out, and Gengar zoomed out.

"Okay, Evan! Use shadow ball!"

"Same for us, Gengar!"

The two attacks collided in midair, and both Pokemon were shoved backwards by the energy of the blast.

"Well, it evolved, and got some more experience. So, great job, Mimi!" Morty said, as Gengar floated around above us. Evan ran back over to me. I petted it on its head and thought out loud, "Evan is sorta kiddish, huh? Maybe… Umber would be a good name? It's sort of a dark color. Like shadows." "Umber" nodded approvingly.

"Hey, what's going on?" I heard Will ask sleepily. I turned around to see him rubbing his eyes and looking at me a little angrily.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. We were trying to help Umber evolve."

"Umber?"

"Formerly Evan." Morty offered.

Will looked a bit shocked before walking dejectedly back to his tent. I walked back over to him.

"Will? Are you okay?" I asked.

I heard him vaguely mutter, "It's so not fair…"

"What's not fair?" I asked, trying to see what was troubling him.

"Nothing. Just go to sleep. I'm tired."

"Okay, fine. If you need to talk, I'll be right there."

"'Kay."

After I was back in my tent, Umber curled up near me, I stayed awake for a while before finally dozing off.


	14. Chapter 14: Vs Tentacruel!

**Chapter 14: Vs. Tentacruel!**

The next morning, I saw a strange looking shadow outside my tent.

"What's going on out there?" I yelled.

"I-i-i-it's a… It's a Tentacruel!" Will yelped.

"Aand we can't get to our Pokemon!" Morty called.

"I'll do… something, I guess." I announced, and walked out of my tent. The Tentacruel was much bigger than expected. I brought out Leafy first, and had it use magical leaf.

"Mimi! Earthquake will have a critical hit on that Tentacruel." Will advised.

"I know, but It would be a bad choice for here." I replied. "I'm aware of that, but thank you!" Leafy used magical leaf again, weakening it. I checked its level… not very high. Only about level 30.

"Okay, one more time!" This one was a critical hit, and I threw a dive ball at it. It shrunk into red light and shook for a moment before stopping.

"Did you catch it?" Will asked. "Is it safe to go over there now?"

"Yes, it is!" I said, rather annoyed.

"You had an advantage there. Since it didn't see you until you started attacking, it was probably easier than normal to catch." Morty explained, handing the white-and-blue orb to me.

"Well, if I had my Pokemon with me, I probably could have easily caught it!" Will bragged.

"Really? Well, who was over there cowering this whole time?"

"Well, there would have been two of us if it had used ice beam!" He retorted.

I jerked back. How could he say that? The way ice felt- zero friction. Just sliding around, powerless to alter your direction, you could go hurtling into a tree, or a hole in the ice, unable to stop… the way it felt if it got around you, froze your feet, or snow, that covered the ground and froze all life for years… I had been told stories of a legendary Pokemon in Unova that was ice-type that ate people, and it was the "Absolute Zero Pokemon" which meant that all matter around it ceased movement. I hated the feeling of ice. Everything about it. If it was in water or something, I could deal with it, but if it was huge, covering an expanse, and all-encompassing like a frozen-over pond or a winter storm, I was not very happy about it.

"Well, if you're going to be like that, then maybe I should just go off on my own!" I yelled, and took down my tent promptly. I packed away everything, with Will watching in stunned silence, and walked past him, Umber glaring. I climbed back up the ladder, and proceeded along the rest of the route. I battled a few more trainers, and was nearly to route 48, when my phone suddenly rang. I answered it without thinking.

"Hello? Who's this?" I said, trying not to sound upset.

"Uh, Mimi? You might want to come back." It was Morty. He sounded rather confused.

"Why should I? It's not like Will wants to see me or anything."

"Actually, it appears to be the opposite. He's really depressed right now."

"Seriously? Well, tell him that if he's so high and mighty, that he should go battle Jasmine! He hates Steelix, so that would be fair enough."

"You really are mad…" He said. I heard something that sounded like fabric covering the receiver, and heard, extremely muffled, "She says go battle Jasmine and she'll forget about it." The fabric was pulled away from the phone.

"Uh, he says no way."

"Then tell him no deal."

I heard him sigh, obviously getting annoyed, and heard, once again muffled, "She says, no deal." I heard Will groaning, and then he said, "Give me that!" and I heard wind whipping past the receiver.

"Mimi, please listen to me! I'm really sorry. It just made me upset that you would…"

"And you didn't think I would be upset about the whole ice thing?"

"I really am sorry."

"Well, unless you can prove to me you're sorry, then I'll just be angry like this."

I heard him mutter, likely to Morty, "Darn, she's stubborn. Worse than usual." I refused to say, "I heard that."

"Okay, fine. Just be that way." I heard him hand the phone back to Morty.

"Okay, well, can you at least head back in this direction…?"

"Fine! I will. See you." I closed the phone and began to walk back. When I arrived back at the campsite, Will had gone.

"Where'd he go?" I asked.

"I don't know. He walked off somewhere."

"Hmph. Probably going to teach Bubble ice beam or something, just to mess with me."

"I don't think that he'd do that. I know you all just had a big fight and all, but he really likes you. I've said it before, but I think it's true now more than then. Mostly because of the way he freaked out when you actually left. Something tells me, though, that he would never admit it, because it would change the way you think of him. He's probably just trying to find a way to express his feelings, but doing a really bad job of it." He tried to end on a funny note, but it didn't work. I sat on the sand and sighed, frustrated. Umber rubbed my shoe with its paw. I knew that meant that it wanted to run around.

"Not now, Umber." I said, too worn out to do anything. It persisted, so I looked at it.

"What is it?" It pointed up into the sky with its nose. Will was flying down from the treeline. He landed and approached me.

"Mimi? Are you happy now?" He asked. He pulled his trainer case out of his pocket, his eyes wild, terrified, and opened it. Inside, stood the mineral badge, along with the zephyr badge, the storm badge, and the fog badge.

"N-no way… You actually… battled her?" I stuttered, shocked.

"Well? Happy?"

The only thing I could do was hug him.

"Wha-wh-what?" He stuttered. Morty was laughing.

"I can't believe you'd do that for me. Thank you," He pulled away, and I stepped back a few feet. He was blushing, but I was just happy.

"Okay, then! Let's get going!" He announced after an awkward moment or two. We managed to get to the same point I had made it to earlier, when my Pokegear began to ring again. I pulled it from my bag and answered it.

"Hey, Mimi! It's Alyssa!" She sounded normal again, almost… happy. "Can you put me on speaker?"

"What's up?" I asked, a little taken aback by her happiness.

"Well, the egg that I was carrying? It shook! It really startled me!"

"That's great! It'll hatch soon!" Will said.

"That's what Maya said. It's so exciting!"

"Congratulations! Take good care of it, though!" Morty said.

"I will! Wait, who are you?" Alyssa asked.

"I'm Morty, from the Ecruteak City gym. I'm traveling with your cousin, and… yeah."

"Oh, from the contest, right? I know that Mimi and Will can be a handful sometimes, so please take care of them for us." Maya chimed in.

Suddenly, I heard a loud crack, and there was static, screams, and another sound- of plastic slamming onto gravel. Suddenly, Alyssa was yelling in a panic.

"Mimi! Mimi! Can you hear me?" The sound of static was overshadowing her voice.

"Yes! What's going on?"

"Someone- Someone, _it was her. _Someone took the egg!" I automatically knew who "she" was- Commander Jupiter.

"Where are you?" I asked, and we started to run across the bridge.

"N-Near the Safari Zone! Hurry!"

"We're almost there! We'll be there as soon as possible!" Will said. I closed the phone and turned a corner. After we crossed the bridge over the river on route 48, I looked around and heard the sounds of a battle coming from an area north of our location. We ran over to the place Alyssa spoke of.

There was a huge cliff, surrounded by an expanse of trees below it. There was a platform floating a few feet in the air, similar to the ones back when the stadium was attacked. Commander Jupiter was sitting on one of the sides of it, studying the egg as though checking to see if it was really an egg. Alyssa was yelling and Maya was trying to figure out a strategy, although she looked more like she was panicking. Then, a shadow zoomed through the air, and Jupiter jerked her hand back and dropped the egg.

"No!" Alyssa screamed, and ran to the edge of the cliff. She lost her balance, and Star, who had attacked Jupiter, grabbed her by the shoulders and lowered her to the ground on the cliff, wings flapping wildly.

"Leafy, use vine whip to grab that egg!" I yelled throwing the Pokeball. Vines shot from the buds on its neck, and wrapped around the egg. Leafy tottered back and forth, so I ran forward to take the egg from it. Suddenly, a wild Sneasel, looking down from the cliff called out. Several more appeared, staring at the egg.

"T-That's a Sneasel!" Alyssa yelled. "They eat eggs!"

I lowered my voice and said to Leafy, "Don't move the vines. If you can hold me, I'll climb across them and get the egg." I saw Jupiter zooming down towards the egg. I climbed onto the vines, and cautiously walked out to the egg. I saw the Sneasel lose interest and walk away. Jupiter continued to zoom towards it, and I motioned to Leafy to move. I thought it would only move it in a direction like left or right, but then it moved the vines down, sharply. I slid off the surface of the vines, and fell.

I suddenly felt a hand, firmly around my wrist.

I looked up and saw Ivan, who had one hand holding mine, saving me from falling, and the other hand holding his Golbat's foot. It was at this point I realized that he wore gloves.

He was slightly red.

"Why did you save me?" I managed to ask. "Don't you hate me?"

"What type of person do you take me for?" He replied. He sounded rather angry. "I'm not about to let someone fall like that." I turned my head and saw Leafy, who was fighting Jupiter's team with the aid of everyone else.

But then there was a misfire of pin missile from Jupiter's Arbok. It ripped through Ivan's sleeve, and he let go of my hand in shock. I felt myself falling again, but Ivan was gliding back to the edge of a higher cliff, a look of horror on his face. The crest of the cliff zoomed past me. The trees were looming, ever closer… I looked down and saw a dark shape fly beneath me, and suddenly, someone caught me. Then we slowly began to fly back towards the top of the cliff.

I looked over to see who it was that had caught me. His face, though tough-looking, had a kind look to it. He had red hair, spiked by the force of the wind. He wore a dark green cape, which was billowing in the wind, and wore a shirt with matching pants, both of which looked like plate armor. Almost… like a knight.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." I said, quietly. He was standing on a Dragonite, who turned to fly back towards the cliff. It landed and allowed the person that caught me to step off before it stood up in turn. He carefully set me down, and kneeled. He took my hand and said, "You have good friends. They have already caused the one responsible for your fall to leave. So, travel safely, Princess."

I blushed and managed to stammer out a "thank you". He stood and began to walk away.

"Was that some sort of joke or something?" I whispered to Will.

"No, I think he was serious. I read something about someone like him…"

"Um, excuse me? Mr. Knight?" I called to him. "What's your name?"

"My name is Lance, and I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Princess. May I have the honor of asking your name?"

"Er, it's Mimi." I said, my voice shaking with nervousness.

"Well, then, Mimi, if I may be so bold, I hope we may meet again." He turned and walked away out onto the treeline.

"Thaat's Lance, all right." Morty said, sounding unimpressed. "When you have him as a cousin, you get all those quotes that sound like they're out of a RenFaire. I mean, seriously."

"I dunno! I think it's cute." Maya said, approaching the group. "Hey, Mimi!" She called out in a singsongy voice. "He was cute, and he likes you."

"Yeesh! Maya!"

Suddenly, Alyssa poked me and whispered, "Rival! Right behind you." I turned around, and he approached me, angry.

"What? _He_ gets a 'thank you' and I don't? You would have hit those trees if it weren't for me. He was too late!"

"Well, sorry, but I was a little shocked! Wouldn't _you _be if someone you thought hated you appears out of nowhere and grabs your hand?"

"Let me make this clear. I. Don't. Hate you! So get past that, got it?" As he spoke, he slowly got closer, eventually placing his hands on my shoulders, staring at me. His words were coarse and harsh. I jerked backwards, and he tried to approach me, but I walked over to the rest of the group. He looked at me, made to move towards us, then glared at everyone, but then decided to go run after Lance.

"What a jerk!" Maya said. "I mean, I see his point, but that was just mean."

"Definitely no chivalry there." Alyssa said.

"M-Mimi! D-Do you know who that person was?" Will whispered in awe. "H-He's the leader of the Elite Four! The most powerful one! Second in command only to the Champion, Red."

"He's… Second in command to Red?"

"Yes. But I've heard that Red's been rather worried about something recently. Like… I don't know, but it seems like soon he's going to go somewhere. That's what we've been hearing." Morty explained.

"But… Where to?"

"We don't know. Just that he's been worried lately."

I sighed, and sat down on the ground.

"Well, it's been a long day. Let's just stay here for a while." Morty said, and Alyssa suddenly squeaked.

"Th-The egg!" She held it out. It was shaking violently, and suddenly, a shard of bright blue shot off it. It shattered, and a Piplup, with bright, teal feathers, was left in Alyssa's arms.

"A-Alyssa. Th-that's…" Maya said.

"Just like Snowball…" Alyssa whispered, holding the newborn bird close to her. "Welcome to the team, Snowy." She was crying happy tears, and sat on the ground. The bird looked around for a moment or two before leaning against her and dozing off.

"Y'know, they say around Ecruteak City that when a Pokemon in the care of humans in born, and it's 'shiny' or whatever, then it knew the person that took care of the egg in a past life." Morty said, looking happily at the little bird. "So, that could be the 'Snowball' that you miss so much. She couldn't leave you." Alyssa looked at it and suddenly began to cry. "L-look at it! W-where the attack from Jupiter hit Snowball- there's a discolored spot! I-it is Snowball!" She began to apologize to it furiously.

"Alyssa! Roy and Marth will want to know about this." Maya whispered to her comfortingly. "I know they'll be happy." Alyssa nodded. She pulled her phone out of her pocket. She dialed a number quickly. "Roy. You'll never guess what just hatched out of that egg. No, not Mew. And it's not an Arceus either. Something… Better somehow."


	15. Chapter 15: Vs Raichu!

**Chapter 15: Vs. Raichu!**

A young woman was sitting in a room in a crystalline castle. She had long, wavy, lavender colored hair, with a blue dress and matching long gloves and boots. There were silver diamond shapes on the dress, and a ribbon was tied in the back, which was the same color. She was staring at a small tiara, also made of crystal. An image of a young man wearing a purple suit, similar to her dress, was running across the sand, accompanied by a Jumpluff. He was looking all around for something- or someone. Her.

"Eusine, I really do want you to find me." She said, picking up the tiara and staring into it, standing and leaning on her desk. "But I can't meet you in person yet. My only Pokemon will have to do until then." The huge, blue dog stirred under her desk. She pointed, and it ran off into the distance.

Suddenly, the door of her room slammed, and she jumped, slamming the tiara down onto her desk.

"Sui, there's a meeting." It was En, her brother.

"But the meeting day isn't even nearby!" She protested, sitting down on her chair.

"Well, it's better than sitting around, watching the same person for ages. We have to speak for Lugi and Ou. They still haven't decided."

"And you have?"

"Well, maybe Arche will listen to us. How long will we need?"

"They can't be strong enough yet. I think three years will be enough for them to decide. Then, on the second meeting day from that year, we will put the plan into action."

"Sui, really, three years?"

"You know how little power we all have now. This is the best we can do to affect the world. We're growing weaker everyday."

"Yes, but if we could just send the Pokemon Avatars into the world…"

"Do you know what kind of panic that would cause?" She slammed her hand onto her desk. "If you were just an average person, and you saw Suicune, Entei, Raikou, Celebi, and everyone else running down some city street, wouldn't you be terrified? You'd think the end was near!"

"And if we don't do something, maybe it is!"

"My opinion stands. Three years at the least. It would be too dangerous to put it into action before. Will you speak in my place, En?" She asked, picking up the tiara again.

"Fine. But this is the last time! Got it?" He stormed from the room, his long red hair moving behind him, his metal bracelets clanging against eachother, and his white clothes shining from the crystal-lights around. After he closed the door again, she reclined, staring at the main crystal of the tiara.

"Eusine… When you see it, I hope… It makes a little more sense. But my choice…"

"Is the food ready yet?" Will asked irritably. I laughed and helped Umber adjust its scarf.

"Yes, yes! I'm nearly done. Okay, salt and… Okay! Done!" Morty held up a bowl of soup, which had been cooking over a campfire.

"Yes! I'm so hungry I could eat a Ponyta!"

"Yikes! Stay away from Blaze." I said, holding back the Pokeball from him.

"It's an expression, Mimi!"

"I know, but still! Poor Blaze!"

We started to eat the soup, but suddenly Will wasn't hungry anymore.

"Urg, I'm bored, and I'm worried about that egg." He said. It hadn't moved since that day a while back.

"I don't think it can die. You've been taking crazy awesome care of it, by the looks of it." Alyssa said matter-of-factly. There was a sound of plastic vibrating along a log. Everyone jumped and looked over.

"Mimi, it's for you." Maya said, leaning across Will to hand me my Pokegear. I accepted it and opened it.

"Mimi! It is Rosette! Can you hear me well?"

"Yes! How are you?"

"I am well! Everyone else is well too! I wanted you to see them! I'll fly over to where you are. Where are you?"

"I'm near the Safari Zone gate! Can you make it from Kanto?"

"Yes! I will take the train! It is a lot of fun! But then I will fly! So Maya can see Swan!"

"How did you?"

"I battled some, but Mom gave me a badge to use Fly!"

"Oh, so that's why! I'll see you soon then!"

"See you soon!" Click!

"Rosette, I'm guessing?" Alyssa said, leaning on a nearby tree.

"Yep. She'll be here soon." I replied.

"Do you think she's finally evolved that Blitzle into a Zebstrika?"

"Alyssa, don't be such a cynic." Maya warned, sipping a cup of tea.

"Sorry. Old habits." She continued playing with Snowy, who was chirping happily.

Rosette arrived a few minutes later and ate some soup with us.

"Hey, can we see your team?" Maya asked, leaning over. Rosette looked really happy. She had tied her hair up into two small ponytails and her Pokeballs were attached to her dress by several ribbons. Her cape now had lace lining. She was carrying a cute umbrella that looked like a Pikachu.

"I was hoping you'd ask!" She said, holding the Pokeballs by the ribbons. She spun in a circle, and her Pokemon leapt out at everyone. Smugleaf stirred in her hair, and popped up. It slid off her forehead to join its teammates. Sure enough, Stripe had evolved into a Zebstrika. There was also a Pokemon that looked like an ice-cream cone. It had a small parasol stuck in a straw-like object coming out of its head.

"That one's a Vanilluxe. It was a Vanillish, but it evolved." She explained. Alyssa greeted the Zebstrika before continuing to take care of Snowy. It nudged her happily, recognizing its capturer.

"How are you doing, Stripe?" She asked, as it walked back to Rosette. It nodded and walked around its trainer for a short time before settling down.

"It's good to see everyone is well." Maya said, combing Swan's feathers. Silk was sitting near me, purring.

"Have you been able to train anymore? Oh, sorry, obvious. I meant, contest training." I asked, as Silk rolled around on the ground.

"Yes, quite a bit, actually! There are many kind people in Kanto!"

"That's great. I want to go to Kanto, but not yet. I want to finish my training in Johto first." I explained. Silk jumped up, shook its head, and walked off to go sit with Glam.

"I think we can win the Gracidea contest. Or, at least, do well." She announced, spinning around again. Suddenly, her X-transciever (A sort of watch-like Pokegear) began to ring. She pressed a button and held it up to her face.

"Good Morning, Mom." She said, smiling.

"How are you? Is everything okay?" Rosaline asked.

"Yes! Crystal evolved, and so did Stripe!"

"How is Smugleaf and Lace? Are they doing all right?"

"Yes! Quite well! So are Silk, and Lolita, and Swan!"

"I'm very happy for you! I was just checking in, so I'll go now. Call me if you need anything! Bye!"

"Bye!"

She pressed another button and the C-gear clicked shut.

"Sis?" I asked. Rosette nodded. "She is worried again." She said, sitting on a log and sighing.

"Well, you _are_ only nine. It's sort of dangerous for you." Alyssa said, as Snowy rolled on the ground.

"I know, but still. I feel sort of like a… er… The saying goes like..." She looked deep in thought before waving her hands and saying, "Never mind! Rosette just wants to be able to travel. I try to, but I'm not very good at saying what I want to say as I am thinking it." She looked hopeful, the kind of look you give someone when you really don't want them to ask you what you mean because you _really_ can't think of any other way to put it.

"I sort of get it." Will said, leaning back onto the log. "What you mean is, when someone tells you something, you think about it for a long time, right?"

"Exactly! Thank you very much!" Rosette cheered. She suddenly jolted and looked at her watch. "Oh my! I need to go! Thank you very much, it was very fun!" She quickly called back her Pokemon. She then lightly slapped her forehead, and called out Swan again.

"Fly me back to Goldenrod City, please?" She said to it. It jumped into the air and she grabbed one of its talons. She waved as she soared out of sight.

"Well, we had better get going too." Alyssa said, standing up.

"It was nice to see you all!" Maya said. She walked over to Morty and bowed. "Please take good care of them. Mimi can be a little shut-off sometimes," I interjected a protest. "And Will isn't always the calmest. Please deal with them! So they'll be safe!"

"You don't have to worry!" Morty replied, giving her a thumbs-up. "We'll be O-K!" He said, putting enough space between the two syllables so that it sounded like he was spelling it. Maya gave him an unsure nod at this and walked away with Alyssa. She turned around a few times, looking rather worried.

"Well, that went well." Morty said, without a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He actually sounded as though he hadn't realized Maya's distaste at all.

"Are you _that bad_ at reading a situation?" It was Falkner… somehow.

"Where are you?" Morty asked calmly.

Will and I had turned around. We both jumped. He was looking rather unimpressed at the three of us, although he looked rather amused at Morty's reaction.

"Oh, so that's why…" Will said, remembering Maya's worried look.

"Oh, okay. 'Sup?" Morty asked, holding up his hand for a high-five.

"No." Falkner moved his friend's hand away. "Nothing, I just heard of Mimi's progress. I wanted to see how she was doing."

"I'm doing great!" I could feel myself blushing, nervous at the idea of being addressed by Falkner in a kind manner again.

"That's good. I can't stay long… Sylvia was making a big deal about the Unown again." He said, walking around us before his Pidgeot soared out of its PokeBall and landed nearby, to fly back to Violet City.

"See you all later. I'll call you if we figure anything out." The bird launched into the air, and Falkner took one of its talons. The duo soared away.

"We're nearly to the Safari Zone! Can we _please_ get there today?" Will complained, as Bubble tottered around nearby.

"We're trying!" I said, and looked ahead. There were the gates of the Safari Zone, with several covered-market stands and a Pokemon Center.

"Cool! I'm gonna go heal my Pokemon!" Will cheered as he raced to the red-roofed building.

"You guys sure are excited today." Morty observed. "Well, I'm going to go see what these people are selling. Let's meet back at the bridge in ten minutes!" He called, loud enough for both Will and I to hear. I walked near the huge, tribal-painted gates, and heard shouting.

"Let us in!"

"No way!"

"Why not!"

"Y-You're Team Rocket!"

"Let us in!" There was a loud crash from what I guessed was a Team Rocket member.

I threw open one of the gates and found that the inside of the gate was completely dark.

"All right, Blaze, give us some light!" I threw the ball, allowing Blaze to run free in the confines of the gate. I saw several Team Rocket Grunts threatening a seated individual. The grunts had several Pokemon typical of Team Rocket.

"Blaze, use ember on those grunts' Pokemon, but be careful not to mess up anything else!"

The level difference wasn't enough to make them faint. Instead, the two that had received the full power of the attack both used revenge at the same time. Blaze cried out and wobbled on its hooves.

"Five against one isn't exactly fair. Why don't we make this a little bit easier?" I heard someone say. I didn't get a good look at her face- She had a Raichu, I could tell, but she had it use flash, and none of us could see but the source of the light.

"Use thundershock!" She yelled, and the orange mouse fired bolts of lightning from its cheeks. The grunt's Pokemon fainted, and she turned and left before I could thank her. They recalled their team and left the gate. The man who had been sitting down got up and shook my hand. He introduced himself as Baoba, the Safari Zone Warden. "Thank you for doing that. They wanted to get into the Safari Zone without paying the fee. Although, to tell the truth, I haven't actually had anyone try it out yet. We've just remodeled and all… Would you mind trying it out? For a fee of 500 poke. We've lowered our price!"

"O-okay…" I said. I was, admittedly, rather shocked by this development. I handed over the money and walked inside. I was followed by a moving platform carrying Pokeballs with a camouflage pattern. I was unable to catch any Pokemon in the allotted time, though, so I walked back into the gate.

"Nothing? Well, was it fun?" Baboa asked. I nodded and walked back out. It was _definitely_ more than ten minutes now. I walked out of the walled-in gate and dashed towards the bridge- only to be tackled by Will.

"I found her!" He yelled, before standing up and taking my hand, pulling me up to stand.

"Yeesh! What happened to you?" Will asked, as I dusted myself off. I noticed that I had gotten my boots all muddy.

"Darn, I liked those, too." I muttered, before Will repeated his question. I replied, "I went into the safari zone gate. The guy was being threatened by some Team Rocket people. A girl came in with a Raichu and knocked out the grunt's Pokemon, and then the warden made me try a Safari Game."

"Did you catch anything?"

"Do you see a new addition to my team?" I said as Morty approached.

"Hey, Mimi. You're all muddy. Were you playing football or something?" He asked, holding up the medicine case. "I bought some potions and antidotes. I figured you all might need some full heals, so I bought those too." He explained, pointing to each item in the box.

"Thank you! Are you ready to battle Chuck, Mimi?" Will announced, looking excited.

"Yeah! I can totally win!" I yelled, psyching myself up.

"All right then! Setting sail for Cianwood City!" Morty said, and Gengar looked at me skeptically.

"Er, can I buy some new boots before we leave?" I asked, looking at the muddy mess.

"Sure. That stand over there sells clothes." Morty announced, pointing. I nodded and walked over. I saw a pair of tall black boots (the sign said they were perfect for travel, and didn't have much of a heel like the ones I had then). I offered the shopkeeper the money, and he accepted it, taking the shoes and wrapping them in tissue paper. I also purchased some new socks and a new skirt.

"Why'd you buy all that?" Will asked.

"I figured I could wear this while I wash the other skirt. And the socks are because my old ones got ruined with the old boots." I explained, donning my new shoes. "Do they look okay? Do I look silly?" I asked, growing more nervous as time went on.

"You look fine! And that's much more reasonable for a journey." Morty replied, standing up. "Let's go, if we want to get there by the end of the week."


	16. Chapter 16: Vs Rattata!

Chapter 16: Vs. Marill!

We were heading through the cliffs when, suddenly, the edge of the cliff I was walking along fell. I tried not to scream, but I couldn't help it. The ocean was far below. It also didn't help that I felt my ankle twist as I slipped, and was now aching quite painfully.

"Hey! Are you okay?" Will ran to the cliff's edge.

"Don't get too close to the edge!" I warned as he sidled towards where I was holding. "Get a rope, or… I know!" I reached for Sora's PokeBall at my belt, but my other arm began to feel painfully strained. I put my hand back on the edge.

"We'll figure something out! Just be careful!" Will called before walking a bit farther away.

"I'd have Drift help you out," Morty began, "But since it's sort of…"

"Tiny?" I asked, trying to find a foot-hold.

"Yeah. I don't think it could hold you. Not commenting on your weight or anything, just saying." He added the last statement, possibly after seeing a mild look of annoyance pass over my face. Just as I found a good foot-hold, the dirt below me shattered with a loud boom. A huge, metallic snake zoomed out and placed its head under my feet.

"W-what's going on?" I whispered, frightened, and in general too shocked to do much else.

"I really have no idea." Morty replied, looking somewhat fazed for once. "That definitely does _not _happen normally." He said, falling back from the edge.

"Relax, sweetie." I heard someone say. It was a girl's voice, and she wasn't too far away. "Stella's not about to hurt you." Her voice was familiar. She approached the cliff's edge, a Raichu on her shoulder. She wore long black boots that had glowing yellow stripes running along the length, a dress that looked like a huge yellow satin ribbon had been sewn together around her, and dark green hair in a huge side-ponytail, tied with a matching yellow ribbon. "Miranda, pleased to make your acquaintance. Stella, get her out of there, if you please." The Steelix more firmly pushed against my feet, and I let go, with one hand on Sora's PokeBall, just in case. However, it moved out of the tunnel a bit more and set me down on the grassy surface of the cliff.

"That was a very good use for dig! I never thought of it much before. That was genius!" Morty was congratulating the Miranda girl, who was nodding, and mumbling thanks. She seemed used to this, as she simply returned her Steelix without so much as a second thought.

"Hey, you need to not walk so close next time. That friend of yours was just passing me by the time I think that Stella tunneled under you. You need to either be more careful or build up more arm muscle, sweetie." She said, and I slowly began to notice a hint of Unovan accent. I approached her, only to feel a twinge of pain in my ankle.

"A-ack!" I yelled, taking the weight off my leg.

"Here." Miranda said, unwrapping a ribbon tied around her wrist. "Take off your shoe. I'll fix it for you." She took one look at it before announcing that I had sprained it and should to my best to stay off it. She wrapped the ribbon around it like a bandage before standing.

"Hey, are you from Unova?" I asked as she walked away.

"Proud of it! Straight from Nimbasa City. My mom's friend was all, 'My daughter needs an older girl to look after her!' and my mom was all, 'Oh, Miranda would be perfect!' So they sent me out on a plane to _the boondocks. _What's _up with that?" _She complained.

"Hey! Johto's pretty cool. We may not have a lot of big buildings like you're used to, but we have _culture._" Morty said, suddenly showing some dislike for her.

"Excuse me?" She said, turning.

"What a weird outfit! This isn't a Gaga concert, in case you didn't know." Will shouted from across the clearing. He must have heard the commotion and decided to back up Morty.

"_Excuse me?" _She cried, as if he had just slapped her instead of insulted her dress.

"I said, calm down the clothes. This is _the boondocks_ after all." He said, mimicking her tone perfectly.

"Well, all the more reason for you hillbillies to get some fashion sense!" She argued.

"As if! I like our calm jackets and jeans just fine, thank you!"

"Yeah, I could tell! I bet you didn't even bring a change of clothes with you!"

"I did! And they're quite nice."

"Well, enough about such things. You've insulted a lady. The only way to take it back is to let her win in a battle against you!" She yelled, her Raichu jumping off her shoulder.

"What are you talking about? I don't see any ladies around here. Well, I'll battle you anyway! Bubble, let's go!"

Morty slapped himself in the face. "You've got to be kidding. Really, Will? A water-type?"

"He probably knows what he's doing…" I quietly said.

"I hope. It would really stink to lose after doing all that big talking."

It wasn't long before Will fell to the ground and held the fainted Bubble in his arms.

"Hmph. Maybe next time you'll think twice before insulting a model-in-training. Now to find this 'Rosette' girl…" Miranda said, flipping her hair. She hadn't even broken a sweat. Not a hair was out of place, and there wasn't any evidence that her Raichu had taken a hit.

"Rosette?" I said, jumping. The sudden power this girl showed… I hope she wasn't going to become her rival.

"Yes. What about her?"

"She's my niece!" I said, shocked.

"Hmph. That's just great. Well, mind telling me where I can find her?"

"I-I won't." I said, standing my ground. "I don't know how she'd react to you. And I really don't want her to get hurt." _I promised Rosaline that I wouldn't let her get hurt. The day they left for Unova, I told her that._

"I have zero plans of battling her." She said, once again flipping her hair. "If she's anything like your friend here, though, I might have a little bit of interest. Anyhoo, I don't want to hurt her. If she's from Unova, she won't say I look like a Gaga, whatever that means." She turned and walked away.

"Hey! Miranda!" Will yelled, standing up. He was shaking with fury, even though his head was down. She turned.

"N-next time… Next time, I'll win!" He yelled, shaking more furiously.

"Calm down, Will." I whispered. There wasn't much point in it- if you could get him angry, truly, completely infuriated, he'd flare up and yell and scream and just in general be angry until he either lost his voice or the person went away. He'd stay mad for a few days, his rage dwindling until he finally gave up on it and calmed down. But until then, it was best to leave him alone and rant on his own. That's what I had learned from years of being around him. In general, he was happy, calm, a little emotional, but not too bad. He could get annoyed and angry, but when he was really, very enraged, he almost became a different person.

"Well, maybe I'll just give you the honor of calling you my rival, hmm?" Miranda asked, walking over to him. "For a hillbilly, you're pretty cute." She winked, turned around, and walked away, the lines on her shoes flashing with each step.

"Will." I said, worry building. If he exploded now, then we'd have to bear it. "Go heal your Pokemon. I don't know how to do that yet."

"…Fine. I might not be back for your battle. You better not lose." He knew as well as I that neither of us wanted to be around the other as long as he was angry. He walked off in the direction of the Safari Zone, the sun setting, clutching his Marill.

"Should we set up camp or try to make it back to Cianwood City?" Morty asked. "You're hurt, so you should choose."

"What would you rather do?" I was making a vain attempt to keep the decision away from me.

"Hmmm… Well, the option you'd probably want to take is to get back to the city as soon as possible, but the intelligent choice- no offense- would be to rest for today. A lot has happened anyway. It'd be better for both of us." He set his backpack on the ground and began setting up a tent. I settled on the ground not too far away, looking through my PokeDex.

"You know, I haven't met that many Pokemon yet." I said, sighing.

"Well, you're only about halfway through. You'll meet a lot more by the time you're done." Morty said, stirring the soup we were going to eat for dinner.

"Well, I hope so. I wanted to see the world. And to grow stronger… It didn't work as great as I had thought. But I've done well in my other battles! I shouldn't have too much trouble with Chuck."

"…I wouldn't be so sure. I could teach one of your Pokemon a ghost-type move. That'd help. A lot of really experienced trainers have trouble with him. Especially consider the type makeup of your team. Fighting-type moves cause critical hits when facing a normal-type opponent."

"I'll be fine! Don't worry."

Dinner was a little awkward and silent. The next morning we set off a slow pace back to Cianwood City. I had some difficulty going down ladders and stairs, but Morty was nice about it. After we walked back, we saw a girl staring at a huge blue dog-like creature. It had a crystal on its head and long flowing purple hair flowing behind it. The girl was wearing a black-and-yellow baseball cap with a half-moon connected to a PokeBall on the front of it. She also wore a blue-and-yellow tartan scarf with a black jacket that had red straps on the arms. She had black jeans with long yellow stripes on the sides, ending in circles, and black shoes. She was holding an Ultra Ball with yellow and blue fingerless gloves. There was an Umbreon at her side.

"Sylvia, do you think that's…" Morty asked breathlessly.

"Y-yes. I think it is… Suicune." She answered. It became apparent that she was the girl in the Ruins of Alph. "Which means, we have about three seconds to Eusine appearing." Suicune looked in my direction but then leaped over my head. I turned around as Eusine appeared behind me, his eyes wide.  
>"T-That's…" It bowed its head to him. He slowly reached his hand towards the beast, and it sniffed his hand. He was shaking, as though this moment was everything to him. Soon afterwards, it nodded, turned, and ran off across the sea. The previously dark ocean looked brighter with each step it took. Sylvia walked over to the ocean and put her hand in the water.<p>

"I-it's completely purified. It was Suicune after all!" She exclaimed. "Oh, wow! This is just so exciting! I'm going back to the Burned Tower, okay? Oh, wait! Who's this?" asked Sylvia, looking at me.

"My name is Mimi! Nice to meet you… It was Sylvia, right?"

"Yep! Sylvia! Hey, how about we have a battle? You have an Umbreon, and I do too!"

"O-okay!" I replied. We were about to start our battle when a kid wearing a blue baseball cap and shorts ran over to me.

"Hey! I saw you looking at Suicune! Let's have a battle!" He exclaimed. There was a tiny Rattata by his side.

"All right. I'll battle you. Trent, I haven't gotten to battle with you yet. Let's go!" I yelled, throwing the dive ball I had caught the Tentacruel in.

"I taught it surf. Just letting you know. It knew splash, so it didn't replace anything too important." Morty told me from where he was standing.

"Okay, thank you!" I replied, and the kid with the Rattata instructed it to use hyper fang.

"Trent, try and dodge it!" I exclaimed. It didn't have good agility on land. The Rattata chomped on its head. Trent didn't look too hurt, rather, it looked angry. It whirled back around and instead of tackling its purple opponent- went after me. I made a sort of squeaking noise that can only be described as "oh _crap._"

"I'm so sorry! Please don't be mad! Oh! Go onto the water!" I yelled. It stopped halfway through its charge across the sand and turned, sidling back into the ocean. The Rattata kept using bite and hyper fang, but Trent slid into the water.

"All right, now use surf!" It glared at me and used poison jab instead.

"Rattata! Use take down!" The purple mouse zoomed at Trent and slammed into it. Trent shuddered and jumped out of the water.

"Please, listen to me! Use surf!" It ignored me again, but this time used poison spikes- this Rattata was the kid's only Pokemon, so it was pointless.

"W-Wha? Why won't it listen to me?" I whispered, shocked.

"Well, it didn't see a very good part of you. It saw you fight with Will. That was the first thing it saw you do after capturing it. That wouldn't leave a good impression, especially since we were probably bothering it prior to that." Morty explained. "If you can win a gym battle with it, it'll probably respect you a bit more."

"C'mon, please! Do you _really_ want to lose to a Rattata?" I begged. That seemed to get through to it.

"All right! Surf, please!" I asked, and Trent slammed down onto the surface of the water. A large wave surfaced and came onto shore, running into the Rattata.

"Oh no… Are you okay?" The boy ran to his Pokemon.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know surf was that powerful." I walked over to him and handed him a potion.

"My name's Joey. It was great to battle you! Hey, could I get your phone number? So we can battle again."

"Sure!" We handed each other our PokeGears, and soon, I had his number registered next to Will's, my Mom's, and Professor Elm's.

"I'll call you soon! Good luck in your gym battle!" He said, walking away.

"Good luck to you too!" I cheered, and Morty and I walked to the Pokemon Center.


	17. Chapter 17: Vs Machamp!

Chapter 17: Vs. Machamp!

After I got my Pokemon healed, we walked back outside.

"Are you going to train anymore?" Morty asked. "Chuck's really tough. I could loan you a Pokemon, if you really want."

"No! I can win this, I know it!" I exclaimed, excited. I ran to the gym, kicking up sand. Togii jumped up and down, attempting to run faster. I opened the door and ran inside, to be greeted with a huge waterfall tumbling down in front of me. Sitting under it was a tough looking, middle-aged man. He had red pants that were frayed, as though he had had them all his life. I walked as close to the waterfall as I could stand, but he made no effort to get up, nor did he make a single movement that could mean he noticed me.

"There are valves that turn off the waterfall." Morty explained, pointing to a platform that surrounded the torrent of water. "I don't think he'll notice you. He's really focused right now."

"Kay." I nodded, and climbed up the rickety ladder leading to the platform. I pulled on a lever and the water began to lose some of its speed. I walked past where the mist created a slippery area of the bridge, and found another lever. Pulling this one caused the waterfall to stop entirely. I looked down and saw Chuck stand up, glare in several directions, then look up at me. His face still looked angry, but now more of a determined angry.

I climbed down the ladder and got ready to battle. I was feeling quite confident, so I had Togii as my lead. A woman pressed a button and the sides of the gym moved back, revealing a huge platform. She walked to the sidelines, and announced:

"The challenger has figured out the puzzle of the gym! She has the right to challenge the Leader, Chuck! Miss, please state your name."

"My name is Mimi, from New Bark Town!"

"Okay, the Challenger- Mimi! Her opponent- Chuck! You will use one Pokemon each! Ready… Begin!"

Chuck raised a red-and-white orb into the air and threw it onto the battlefield. It released a Machamp.

"Machamp, prepare for battle! Get focus punch ready!" Chuck called to it, the first words he had spoken.

"Okay, Togii, let's go!" I pointed and Togii toddled out in front of me.

"Mimi! What the- What are you thinking!" Morty yelled from the sidelines. "This is Chuck- _'His roaring fists do the talking'_! Fighting type!"

"It's okay! I know what I'm doing!" I called back cheerfully. "Okay, Togii! Use metronome!" Togii swung its hands back and forth in a swift rhythm and unleashed hyper beam. It was a solid hit, but Togii wasn't a high enough level to do much.

"Now, while it's resting! Unleash focus punch!" Chuck yelled, and Machamp flew at Togii. It was hurled backwards and into the wall behind me. It rolled across the floor back to me, and was shaking. It was definitely on its last legs.

"Togii… Hang in there!" I encouraged it, and it stood slightly more steady than before.

"Togii, please have enough strength! Use rock smash!" Togii launched itself at its foe- but its attack was only a glancing blow.

"Okay, Machamp… Finish it with ice punch!"

The words might as well have slapped me in the face- for me, there was no crueler a way to finish a battle than with an ice-type move.

"Togii! Dodge it, please—!" Togii flew behind me in a blast of icy air.

"N-no… T-there's n-no…" I collapsed onto the floor, Togii rolling back towards me slowly. It managed to stand and placed its tiny hands on my knee.

"I'm so, so sorry, Togii…" I whispered, hugging it, trying to warm it up from that final attack. "You got hurt because of me. I freaked out and couldn't move… I'm sorry…"

After I got Togii healed up, I was moping on a bench near the ocean.

"Mimi, I tried to warn you." Morty muttered, sitting down next to me.

"I know you did, but I'm just so stupid and ughhhh…" I said, putting my face on my knees and starting to cry. "If I hadn't been so stupid then Togii wouldn't have gotten hurt and urgh… I feel horrible."

"I'll help you train. And please, take this in the nicest way possible- stop complaining. I can't _stand it _when all people do is complain. Especially in situations like this. I'll help you train. I will. Just. Stop. Complaining." He warned, moving to stand. I followed him, still muttering how bad I felt. I wasn't trying to annoy him, I just felt that bad- Leafy was my first Pokemon, yeah, but Togii was important to me. I had wanted it to trust me so badly I had forgotten even the most fundamental type matchups.

"I'm so stupid."

"Shut up."

"I don't know why I did that…"

"Shut uup."

"Togii must hate me now…"

"Shut it."

"They probably all think I'm dumb… I mean, I knew Trent already thought that, but…"

"My annoyance is building. I don't think you've seen me really annoyed yet…"

"Ughhhh… How could I have been so stupid…"

"Can you stop talking if you're just going to complain?"

"Urghhhh… I made such a stupid choice…"

"Mimi." Morty had turned around, grabbed my shoulder, and moved my face to face him all in about two seconds. "I warned you. You knew. Make things better now, okay?"

"B-b-but… They're all gonna be mad…"

"They won't. And now we're going to make a scene." I had just realized now that we were standing in the middle of Cianwood City. And this probably looked young-couple-ish.

"Ackkk!" I squeaked and jumped backwards.

"…What?" Morty asked nonchalantly, walking ahead. I was still moping, but silently now.

"Well, Togii? Are you angry with her?" He asked the tiny egg-like Pokemon. It shook its head and looked at me as though slightly nervous, however.

"See? It's probably just nervous about what you're going to do now."

"Well, okay…" I muttered, looking down. "What sort of training should I start with?"

"First of all, build up endurance. Psychic moves, fighting moves, that sort would be a good idea."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Believe it or not, fighting-types are weak to fighting-types."

I nodded and walked onto the nearby beach.

"Hey, why don't we go swimming? It'll get your mind off it." Morty suggested.

I blushed, so I looked away and said "Okay" quietly.

Sylvia was still there, but she was distracted by something offshore, standing on a rock. All of a sudden, she slipped and fell into the water, and screamed as she disappeared beneath the waves. Morty called her name a few times, but there was no response. Will ran up behind us, his Marill still following him, but he looked different- more determined, stronger.

"What's going on?" He asked. Morty replied by jumping into the water.

"A girl fell into the water! I'm going to help Morty." I replied, jumping in after him. I swam towards the rock, and dived beneath the waves and opened my eyes. They stung at the salt, but I saw Morty looking around too, before shaking his head. He swam up, out of breath, and the moment he had vanished from my field of sight…

A freezing cold hand grabbed my ankle and pulled me down. I screamed, and what little air I had left rushed out of my lungs. I could feel myself fighting to keep my head- to not breath in, no matter how logical it would seem. The world was slowly turning black…

I awoke in a cage made of ice. My legs were frozen together, like a mermaid's tail. I looked wildly around the cave. Sylvia asleep- passed out, more likely- in a cage farther away, the same thing happened to her. I shook, both from cold and fear. The cages were suspended over an underwater lagoon. Water-lights shone on the caves ceiling.

"Wondering where you are…?" A girl's voice whispered.

I tried my best to turn around, if somewhat awkwardly, to see a little girl floating in the water. She had long purple hair that floated around her, and was wearing a black shirt. A mermaid's tail surfaced behind her, as well as a Dewgong and a Seel.

_Ice-types, naturally…_ I thought scornfully.

"You're in my cave." She answered herself. "I'll make you a pretty mermaid like me, and that girl too. And then you'll stay here with me forever… It's so lonely here… No one is a mermaid like me. My name's Lorie. What's yours?"

"I-I won't answer."

"Come on. Tell me. I'm bad at giving names…"

"I-it's Cattelya." I replied, remembering my mother's maiden name.

"Are you sure…? You look more like… Mimi." She grinned. "You lied. That's your real name, isn't it? Mimi?"

I shook my head. Her eyes took on a frightening look, even though her smile remained the same. That was when I noticed that her eyes looked glittery, like ice…

"Don't lie to me… You'll be here forever. You don't want me to be angry with you… Do you?"

"S-sorry… That is my real name."

"Good!" She smiled and swam off. Her tail glittered, the same as her eyes, and her hair did too…

I sat there for hours, eventually wearing an outfit made of ice. It was weird-looking enough without the fact that she insisted on making it green.

Eventually, the cage melted and I fell into the water. She turned her back, and I took the opportunity to try to get out. I swam down to look for an escape route- but when I came back up, she looked at me and said, "All the escape routes are underwater. Your Pokemon are frozen to you, so you can't use them. Like I said… We'll be here together forever…"

Suddenly, I realized that I could almost see through her- not emotionally, in fact, _literally_.

"N-no way…"

_She was made of ice._

Looking through her, which was a _very _frightening experience, to say the least, I thought I saw bubbles forming behind her…

I looked at Sylvia- I knew that Lorie would be able to see me looking behind her- and saw that she was still passed out. She was completely frozen to the ice- although I knew that she was probably just as powerful as a gym leader.

"She put up a fight. But in the end, girls just wanna be pretty, you know?" She asked. I knew she wasn't lying. If it hadn't been ice, I would have enjoyed it more…

But then I heard her scream in anger and fear. I whirled back around to see many, many cracks all over her. She shattered to reveal Bubble in midair, its tail in midswing. Will surfaced soon after it as Morty climbed onto the ledge Sylvia was on, and had Mini use Will-o-Wisp to melt the ice.

But then Lorie reformed right in front of me.

She was enraged, and yelled, "You really think two teenagers can stand up to me?"

This made both me and Will stop moving entirely and stare at Morty.

"Teenager?" We both muttered.

"Adding four years is the custom, guys." Morty sighed. "I thought you guys knew that…"

"No! How the heck would we know that?" I asked.

"It might surprise you, but it's a weird custom. Depending on your rank, you add years to your age. It's really based on experience. Most Gym Leaders add one or two, but for me… four."

The ice melted, so we dropped the subject. Will yelled for Bubble to use mach punch, which broke the ice-mermaid into pieces again. They reformed again, and Bubble broke it again, and they reformed again… Her face had gone evil, wild, and her hand was on one of my arms. The tail was frozen tightly around my legs- I was completely paralyzed. I couldn't move- that material I hated was surrounding me…

And at the same time, it was shattered and melted.

The ice faded into the water, as did any of the other ice around us. I saw Ivan up on a ledge nearby.

"I will… Not allow you to be in such a pathetic state ever again…" He muttered, before leaping back into the water and swimming out of the cave. I stared after him in shock. The Dewgong and Seel swam away and disappeared underwater.

"D-did he just say what I thought he said?" I whispered. "Was he actually worried about me…?"

"Well… Let's just get out of here." Will said, Bubble forming bubble-helmets around us. We swam down through the tunnel and finally were back on the shore. All of this had culminated in one idea: I had to train more. If Will and Ivan could take down such a being, which I hadn't even noticed, then I would have to become much, much stronger if I even wanted to consider challenging Red.

"Train me."

"Huh?" Will and Morty both asked, turning to face me.

"I need to be much, much stronger." I answered determinedly.

Lorelei watched from the ice-crystal angrily.

"No wonder... We were taken down by _him _of all people." She muttered, before throwing the crystal to the ground and shattering it. "Team Rocket's got it all wrong... We're the ones in control. And if the prophecies are correct... _They're _the ones to keep an eye on." She looked at a clock, and, still upset at her plan being foiled, walked over to a desk and took a piece of paper and a brush. The invitation would only take a few minutes to write.


	18. Chapter 18: Disillusioned

Chapter 18:

We were walking around Route 47 again, looking for a good place for a final training battle before I challenged Chuck again. It was about then that we saw something going on not too far off shore- it looked like a cloud of purple, blue, and white.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing to it. Will replied, "It's mating season for the Butterfree. Every year they find mates in Kanto then fly over here to lay their eggs. Some people follow them-!"

"Attracted by the beauty of the Butterfree?"

_Why Kate again?_ I thought, whirling around. Sure enough, she was floating a few feet off the cliff, Farfalle clinging to her back. "I follow Farfalle dear here every year. He's had pretty good luck these past few years, but then again, why would his mate need a new mate? He's lovely the way he is." She landed on the cliff and Farfalle flitted off to find his mate.

I looked at the scene. The whole thing looked so peaceful. There was no reason for me to be angry at Kate at the moment. And besides, she had no quarrel with me. So what was the issue with trying to get along?

"So, who's your Butterfree's mate, anyway?" Morty asked as he watched Mini float around the Butterfree.

"That one over there, with the mesh over her wing." Kate answered, pointing it out. It flitted back to shore with Farfalle next to it. "I've never met her trainer, though, oddly enough."

"Oh, Free! You're back!"

The four of us whirled around to see Bugsy running up the road to us. The Butterfree with the mesh on its wing flew over to him and greeted him happily.

Kate looked rather shocked by this development. "Y-you're kidding… That pipsqueak Gym Leader is…" She looked at Farfalle, and it looked back at her as if to say, "What's wrong?" She rested her face on her hand and let out a huge sigh. "Nothing, nothing. Come on, Farfalle dear, we need to get some things in town. Oh, and sis?"

"Yes?" I answered curtly.

"If you've already fought Chuck, you know he's no pushover. Don't be an idiot. Take a cue from mom and use a Psychic type."

"I only have Sora though…"

"A double type advantage. I'd use it. Well, at any rate, ciao, folks." She walked down the road and slung a hand to the right of her head as a wave.

"Well, anyway… How have you all been, guys?" Bugsy asked, removing the net from Free's wing. "Sorry I couldn't get to the contest in time, I was in Unova. Burgh has some really cool strategies for bug-types."

"We've been doing well," I said, Togii rocking back and forth in front of me. "Same here," Will stated. Morty explained the attack on the stadium, which Bugsy slowly took in. "I see… That's really sad… The bug Pokémon in the forest weren't hurt, right?"

"Th-that reminds me! What happened to those little Rattata I found in the forest?" Will yelled, fretting about. "Relax. Naoko said she'd take care of them for you." Morty calmly answered.

"Phew… That could have been bad for them."

"Well, anyway, I should be going. I just came here to get Free. Well, see you guys around!" Bugsy ran off down the road with Free floating just behind him.

"So, Mimi, want to have your final training battle now?" Morty asked.

"Sure!" I answered, feeling the excitement of battle return in a swift rush. I was sure I could win this time.

"Okay, then… Bubble, let's go!"

"Okay, then, Leafy!"

"Good, good! Type choices!" Morty called from the side.

"Bubble, use bubble beam!"

"Leafy, block it with your leaf and then use magical leaf!"

The bubbles collided with the leaf and exploded into tiny particles. Leafy shook the moisture off his leaf and threw the commanded attack, magical leaf, at Bubble.

"Bubble, swing your tail to block it, and then hit Leafy with your tail!"

The blue sphere on the end of the tail swung around to Bubble's front. Bubble grabbed it and had it absorb the brunt of the attack. Then it rushed forward and slung its tail around, which rushed forward even faster due to momentum.

"Leafy, quick, dodge, and then use take down!"

It moved past the blue sphere in the nick of time and jumped back as dirt was sent flying into the air, forming a dust cloud around the combatants. Leafy ran forward, slinging its leaf around to clear the air. It rammed into Bubble before it could react.

"Okay, you got good at thinking on your feet, but sometimes you end up in this sort of situation…" Morty explained, and Mini floated out in front of him, "… Where you have to deal with something you don't like. Mini, use ice beam!" I cringed as the freezing-cold material suddenly appeared in front of Leafy, who slid across the ice. Bubble jumped back up and slung its tail around once again for momentum and this time successfully smacked Leafy in the face. I winced as Mini carried the ice closer to me, inching nearer and nearer. It had almost reached my boots, and it was about to start freezing around them… Just like when I was younger, like that time I had fallen through the ice, like the time I had fallen in the snow in Unova, like the time I accidentally froze my hand to that rock in Sinnoh, like the time that Abomasnow got mad at me and used blizzard to get me to leave its territory… And like the time I had met the Pokemon that inspired my fear of the material in the first place…

"W-w-w-w-Waugh!" I cried, and fell to my feet, shaking horribly. Normally when this sort of situation occurred, I was able to dodge it or stay far enough away from it, or it happened so fast that I wasn't aware it was happening.

I don't think I had reacted this strongly before.

Just like that, all my confidence was gone.

"N-no… D-don't come any closer… D-don't come any closer!" I yelled as I backed up to the edge of the cliffs, where I was sure that it wouldn't reach me. I collapsed onto the ground and curled into a ball. Nothing scared me more than ice.

A lot of time must have passed between my meltdown and by the time I was aware of my surroundings again. The sky was dark and Morty and Will were watching me nervously from some distance away. I managed to weakly walk over to them and sit down by the fire.

"Sorry about that, Mimi, I really am, I got carried away, and I knew you needed to know how to deal with it, but I thought you'd be able to handle it even though it was approaching you, and…" Morty explained quickly, his voice trailing off. I managed to put a small, sad smile on my face, and apologize for my reaction. After the three of us ate our dinner in silence, I went into my tent and buried myself under the warm covers, the exact opposite of ice. I heard footsteps and a familiar voice.

_Ivan?_

I peeked out of the tent, still wrapped up in my quilted cocoon, and looked around curiously. Sure enough, my red-headed rival was standing near the fire. He was arguing with Morty, who insisted I was in no condition to battle. Will wasn't far behind him, standing between Ivan and my tent, as though he would be a formidable barrier between us. "I'll fight…" I managed to say, slithering out of the tent and standing. Ivan took one look at me and scoffed.

"Are you trying to insult my skill? You look like you've got the plague or something. He walked over to me and whispered, "I actually just needed to talk to you…"

"So talk…" I said, feeling sad.

"Privately."

"Um, okay…" I went back into my tent and changed from my pajamas back into my outfit. I walked over to where he was waiting- a small fallen log off in the forest.

"Okay, can I talk now?"

"Yes, yes, go on," I replied, realizing a snap in my voice. He seemed to wince a little, and then his eyes hardened back into that cold, ice-blue stare.

"Stay away from Lance."

"Why? Is he yours, or something?" I said. Yeah, that was definitely a snap.

"He's mine to defeat. He's always been my goal, and I don't want you to beat him easier because he's got his eye on you! Th-those red eyes…" He trailed off in thought for a moment before yelling, "Should be lowered in the shame of defeat!"

"Uh…"

"So, don't fall for him, okay? Someone younger and with better, redder hair'll come along, with stronger Pokémon!"

"'Redder'?"

"Yes! Redder!"

"Uh-huh…"

He seemed to realize what just happened and stormed off, his face red as his hair.

The next morning, I had decided to return back to Cianwood City to battle Chuck again. We walked back, and I was just in time to see Ivan walk out of the building triumphantly. I knew that he now had the badge. It was all I needed to know that today; I needed to keep my head. I walked through the doors and approached Chuck, who was still willing to fight. He walked into another room, then returned a few minutes later with a waiting Machamp.

"So, ready to fight me again?"

"Definitely!" I replied. I called for Sora to fight, and he flew out in front of me. Machamp led with a Thunder Punch, but Sora dodged in time and used Drill Peck. While this didn't do dramatic damage, it did help to prove that I hadn't given up after before. He used a Mach Punch, which did make contact with Sora. Even though he had the type advantage, it hurt. He fell back a little but was able to stay in the air. The battle continued for a few more minutes before Sora looked too tired to continue. I switched him out for Umber.

I had Umber use Shadow Ball to attack, which did a fair amount of damage. I followed up with Iron Tail while it was distracted. The Machamp was strangely slow, but I then saw a huge brace on its leg- that was why it the Mach Punch had hurt Sora so much- the brace probably helped the Machamp keep its strength up at the cost of speed. I then knew I had to risk it. I couldn't lose.

"Umber, direct attack! Iron tail!"

He dashed forward, dodged a powerful punch, and used iron tail right on its opponent's head.

The Machamp fell backward and stirred, but didn't stand back up.

Umber landed on the other side of the Pokemon, nimbly, then turned back around at Machamp. It had fainted.

"The winner is Mimi, from New Bark Town!" the referee called, and only then did I allow myself to breathe. Chuck walked across the field, helped his Machamp to stand, and placed a badge in my hand. I felt so triumphant at that moment that I leapt into the air, and I was joined by Togii and Umber. No sooner had I set foot back on the ground did Togii begin to glow. We all stood, shocked, as he grew, surrounded by that light, and as the light faded, he cried out, just as triumphantly- he had evolved into a Togetic!

Morty clapped, and Will smiled. I heard the door open, and I saw Ivan out of the corner of my eye.

I thought I saw him smile, but it was gone as soon as I noticed it. He turned and left, with a hand in the air as a wave. I found a smile on my own face as I watched him go, and Will and Morty ran over to congratulate me. Chuck shook my hand and told me that I could use Fly in the field now, before handing me the HM for Fly and wishing me good luck. Once we left the gym, I used the HM on Sora, and the three of us flew back to Olivine City.

"You're going to have to go back through Johto now, you know." Morty informed me, scarcely able to stay aloft with his Drifloon. I wasn't doing much better- I was clinging to Sora's talons, not unlike how I had during the attack on the contest stadium. In the end, Will was faring the best of us all, what with his Fearow. We landed back in front of the Pokemon Center, and after I spent a few minutes catching my breath, the three of us walked in, healed our Pokemon, and got a room in the boarding area. Togii was in excellent condition and had come to trust me very much- that was the explanation the nurse had given me. I smiled as I looked at the tiny Pokemon- he was not longer hobbling about awkwardly or hopping. His shell had become a part of his body and he was now entirely white, the whiteness only broken by small blue and red triangles on his stomach.

Leafy looked proud as he wandered about the small room in the Pokemon Center. I mentally promised myself to let him follow me for the next few days, now that Togii had evolved. Blaze tossed her fiery mane as she tried to find a suitable place to sleep. Trent had taken refuge in a tank in the corner of the room, set up for the water-type specialists near Olivine. He still was unruly, but powerful. Sora had perched on the bedpost, preening. Watching them, I felt warmth within me. I wondered if this was what Red felt like when he became champion. Or what Green felt like when she was given a PokeDex. Or what Blue felt like when he was given a gym of his own. Or what Morty feels like every day. Or what Grandma and Grandpa feel like when they take care of Pokemon.

There are so many types of trainers in the world, so many skills to perfect. I thought and thought before I finally said to them, that my aspiration was no longer to become as great a trainer as Red. That would be impossible.

I wanted to be a Gym Leader, like Morty, Whitney, Falkner, Chuck, Jasmine, Bugsy… I wanted to become strong, but not unapproachably strong.

Later that night, when everyone else was asleep, I found myself hit by insomnia. I plugged a pair of headphones into my PokeGear and listened to the radio.

"Is that true?" the news announcer's voice was urgent, worried.

"Unfortunately, that's what we've learned." I recognized the voice. It was Professor Oak!

"Yes, yes, but how could someone…?"

"We have no clues as of yet, other than we have found someone with a profound connection to Red. And that his mother found a letter of challenge in his room."

"Can you tell us who it was from?"

"A man named Bruno." The name jarred my memory, although I could not recall where I had heard it in the past.

"But the Champion, Red… Defeated and missing…"

I stopped thinking then.


	19. Chapter 19: Part of the Past

A/N: ANGSTY CHAPTER YEAH. Well, I was listening to "Goodbye" and "Sad" off of the Indigo League Soundtrack while writing the latter part of this chapter. I hope it made sense... ^^;; I think I'm better at writing angst than I am writing humor, l-lol

Well, anyhoo, enjoy, and R/R as usual! Sorry for the lengthy hiatus. And I have the plot written out now, so I probably won't get off track as poorly as I used to. :D Angsty chapter go!

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><p>Chapter 19<p>

I dropped my PokeGear. I couldn't believe it. It couldn't be true. Red. He couldn't have… He can't have just… It was impossible. Just as impossible as me ever being as strong as him. It was one of those things that just could not, never ever _ever_ happen.

But it had. The words were written, in place of "Street Corner Channel" or "Pokémon Talk with Professor Oak" or any of the other stations. Every station was the emergency broadcast from Lavender Town in Kanto.

And no other thought than _no, no, no, it's impossible, it can't be true_ had gone through my mind.

The headlines for the next week were various wordings of "All-Time Champion, Red, Missing, and Whereabouts Unknown."

I couldn't think, and the events after that moment were a blur.

The next morning, I woke up and expected it all to be a dream. I rubbed my eyes and saw that they were still wet with stressed tears. I smelled something other than oatmeal cooking- pancakes and tea. I climbed down the ladder and saw Will picking disinterestedly at his breakfast, and Morty half-heartedly flipping a pancake.

"Morning." They said in sync, trying to cheer up. But it didn't work- I had already seen them in that state.

"I'm going to be truthful with you, Mimi," Morty began, sitting across from me at the table and offering me a plate of pancakes, "Red hasn't just gone missing."

I blinked, slowly, trying to understand the implications of what he had just told me.

"Red has been kidnapped. Kidnapped by someone in the Elite Four. Based on the evidence, being the letter, and the state Pika was in…"

"Pika was hurt?"

"Badly, Professor Oak said. But he said that there's someone looking for him. The kid's name is 'Amarillo del Bosque Verde' or 'Yellow D'Viridian Grove.' We know next to nothing about Yellow though." Morty continued, then took a long drink of his tea before he spoke again. "The news was issued to all the Gym Leaders just last night. It's a major issue."

I knew what he was implying- he might have to leave. The idea scared me. Morty had kept Will and I together even though we had had probably our worst fights ever out here. He was a calming presence. I didn't want Morty to be in harm's way, any more than anyone else in my family or circle of friends.

"I doubt they'll make us Johto leaders leave, though, despite my… status."

"'Status'?" I asked.

"I'll… I'll explain sooner or later. Are you going to try to battle Jasmine today?"

"Maybe." I said. Will did his best to grin from the other side of the table. I know that the word "first!" was on his lips, he just refused to say it. I sighed and nodded. Even though we would need to train more to counteract our disadvantages, I had a good idea of how to. Steel is weak to fire. Most steel types also have electric type moves. Blaze is the best choice for this battle. I stood, returned my Pokemon to their balls, with the exclusion of Leafy, who would walk with me. _I'll win this battle, _I thought.

_For Red._

I entered the gym, and Ivan was, for once, not ahead of me. Instead, I saw him enter just after me. He had a determined look in his eyes.

Jasmine stood on a platform in the center of the gym. She was talking in hushed tones with a few of the people I later learned were Gym Trainers. I never knew for sure the subject matter, but the way they spoke could only mean either a very close death in the family or Red going missing.

After their conversation ended, they melded into the crowd. Jasmine spoke in a quiet yet determined voice. "It looks like I have many challengers today." She began, clearing her throat surprisingly loudly. "In order to determine who here is the cream of the crop; you will not be battling me first and foremost. Instead you will be battling each other first. Mixed into your group are several Gym Trainers. They blend in excellently. You will each battle a Gym Trainer, but you will not know who they are until the end. Um, the official count is in, and we have a total of 10 battles for each trainer. Please make yourselves ready." She stepped down from the platform and went into a back room. Everyone stared at the screen for our matchups. I saw Ivan on the far end of the screen. He was matched up with an Ace Trainer. I was matched up with a Gentleman class. We all battled (a few of us exchanged PokeGear numbers, the Gentleman I battled, Alfred, was actually a pretty cool guy) through the ranks, and I watched as, each time, Ivan's rank rose to meet mine. The finals took place between him and I.

"I hope you're prepared to lose." Ivan said, bringing out his Quilava. I brought out Trent. With some regret, I used toxic spikes. His Quilava used fire punch, which, though it didn't hurt as bad as ice or thunder punch would have, still must have smarted. I then had Trent use surf, which did a lot of damage. Ivan's Quilava leaped right back into action, using take down. Trent tried to dodge but size was not on his side- he took the full brunt of the attack. About halfway through the battle, though, Jasmine stepped out onto the platform and told us to stop.

"You two are both skilled trainers. I will award these to you." I stopped in mild shock when she said this. I was actually looking forward to battling her. However, she simply placed the badges into our hands. "Right now is no time for petty battling. You have proved your strength enough."

I nodded, and Ivan started to protest, but Jasmine was able to stop him with a shockingly cold look. I was a little taken aback, but Ivan looked almost struck. "Sorry." He muttered, the look on his face still like that of a child's that had been slapped. She then turned to Morty and motioned for him to follow her. The two walked behind a wall, where they talked in hushed voices for some time.

"Come on. We need to get going." Morty said when he returned. He looked troubled, but when I asked him, he refused to answer. When we walked outside, the sky had clouded over, and it was drizzling. Morty began walking, not even bothering to fly the short distance back. It was a silent affair during which we walked. "It's getting late. Set up camp over there." Morty gestured lazily to one side of the woods. Finally, I just couldn't take it anymore. "Morty, what the heck is wrong with you! You were so nice when we first started out, and now you're being so… I don't even know! But I just want to know why. You can tell me, I promise I won't laugh."

"Why don't you ask Ivan. He knows what's wrong." Morty replied sternly, standing in the clearing, letting the rain run into his hair, dripping onto his face and soaking him to the skin. I pretended not to see the tears.

That night, he told us about how his father died.

When he was little, his father made sure to train him well so he could be the Gym Leader one day. But he was a kind father, allowing him to embrace his talent of painting and allowing him to indulge in Ecruteak's native culture, including _kendo _and the legends of Ho-oh. He met Falkner one day while he and his father were traveling to Violet City on business. They decided that they would be Gym Leaders together. It was a pact made in the innocence of childhood that remained in their minds even then. Falkner was always more serious that Morty, as his father was actually more strict. They met up once a week with Jasmine and Whitney in Goldenrod City. One day, when he was only 10, his father, Falkner's father, and Whitney's mother and Jasmine's mother went on a journey to Kanto. They were told to investigate the area around Viridian Forest as a strange woman had been seen there recently, and they were the most powerful Gym Leaders there. As the Magnet Train was not yet completed, and they had never been to Kanto before, they had to travel through Waterfall Cave. The part he had learned from Jasmine, earlier today, was that his father was taking the rear part of the group. He yelled out something, and Jasmine's mother turned around to see him fall from the top of the waterfall, a trail of blood leaving his mouth. At the last possible chance, he released his Pokemon, all ghost types, who flew back to Ecruteak City. He collided with the water, four stories below where they were walking. They saw a man wearing a black trenchcoat and a black bowler hat run back into the shadows. The grief had wracked the surviving three for the past seven years, but had sworn to secrecy to protect their children. They tried to keep hope alive that he was still alive somewhere, but Jasmine's mother knew he was dead- she knew him well enough- the two had been rivals since they were children- to know that he would never release his Pokemon unless he was going to die. She knew that he would spend his last breath pressing those buttons to free them from their confines.

After he finished his story, he broke down completely. He managed to explain that Falkner became a police officer to honor his father, and he took on his father's first name to honor him in his own right. He also stated that Jasmine told him that Giovanni, the head of Team Rocket, was at fault, and had a reason to do so, as his father was a police officer in charge of disbanding criminal organizations. But then he stopped being able to speak, leaning his head into his arms, curling up on the fallen log on which he sat. Will was stunned- Morty was naturally secretive, but this was one thing none of us had suspected, and Will had not seen any proof of this in any of his interviews. As I watched, I realized something. Not even true strength would stop a trainer from being reduced to this state. Even if I was the strongest Gym Leader, remembering my own father, the day he left, I would be just like that. I walked over to him and hugged him, trying to calm him.

"I'm sorry… I really am." I whispered. Morty looked up at me, still shaking with tears at the revelation. Will looked at me too, but more in the "what should I do" way. I returned his look with a "do something, I dunno" look.

I woke up in the middle of the night to a feeling of emptiness. I looked outside to see Morty still standing before the fire, searching for some sort of sign in its ashes.

"I see…" he whispered, then unpinned his brooch and held it up before the fire. He looked into it, looking for something, before giving up and putting it back on his scarf. I slipped out of my tent. I knew he could sense me, but he didn't acknowledge me passing by him. I left the campground, walking to clear my head. I was completely alone a few paces away. I kept walking, turning the day's events over in my head. I wondered about, and I know it sounds cheesy, but life. How impermanent it is. Snowball, that was gone in moments to save her trainer. Morty's father, who gave up his last breath and a chance to save himself to save his Pokemon that he had spent his entire life training. How Red could be at the bottom of the sea, or a wisp of smoke, or… I realized I was crying. I wiped my tears, and tried to keep walking, but I couldn't. I found myself worrying about Rosette. Was she okay? Or… I took my PokeGear out of my pocket and called her.

A sleepy voice answered, "… Auntie Mimi…?"

"Rosette? Are you doing all right over there in Kanto?"

"Yes… I am fine… Why…? Why are you calling so late…? Is there a problem…?"

"No. Sorry. Um, just go back to sleep. I'm glad you're okay. I… I love you."

"Love you too, auntie. Good nights…" She yawned on the other end, and I heard her phone quietly click shut. I called my mother next. She didn't mind that it was the middle of the night, and she talked to me for some time. When we finally hung up, I found myself not scared anymore. I knew that somehow, someway, everything would sort itself out. I took a deep breath and continued walking. I found myself in another clearing, and I heard a quiet, humming noise. I looked around, searching for the source of the sound, and saw, of all people, Ivan, meditating in the middle of the clearing. He jumped when I stepped on a branch, and he turned around quickly. "Ivan…?" I asked. He stared in shock, his face growing red. "How long were you standing there for?" He inquired.

"Not long… Just a minute or two." I replied softly. "Hey, Ivan… Could you tell me something? Earlier, Morty told me something… About his dad…" My words seemed to strike him, just as Jasmine's glare had. "And he said you knew about it too…"

"Yeah… Mimi… I'm gonna tell you something, and I want you to promise me that you won't run when I tell you this. My father… He was the one that killed Mortimer Ecru."

"What?" I say. "He was…"

"Giovanni Rasso. My mother was Ariana Rasso. The two heads of Team Rocket. My father… When I was younger, only about 6, we were using the Waterfall Cave as our base. Lavender Town was too small to hold us all. I was scared, and Mr. Ecru saw me crying. He thought that they had kidnapped me, so he was going to report my father to the rest of the police force. My father didn't want to have his dreams deferred, so he killed him, then pushed him off of the bridge. I… He ended up on the bank. I begged him not to go. I didn't want anyone to die for me… But… I… I… I let him die."

"Oh…" I whispered. Already my eyes were wet again.

"When I got back home, I asked why. They managed to console me, but my mother took me back to Lavender Town, where we would wait until my father summoned us again. By then, I refused to join Team Rocket. You see, one day, when I was living in Waterfall Cave, I found a little baby Magikarp. I took care of it in secret, but my father took it from me. He said that I shouldn't deal with such a weak Pokemon. I often wondered what happened to that fish… But then, when they tried to get me to join, I resisted. I ran, ran, ran. I found my father again, and I had heard of his defeat by a boy no older than me. It sickened me. I ran away, disowning myself from my family, and made my way to Johto. Of course, my 'fresh start' was pretty much screwed over from the start." He was sitting fairly relaxedly, and I was alittle surprised. I knew he didn't hate me, but here he was, pouring his heart out to me.

"All I've wanted to do for so long is to apologize. To Morty. To Professor Elm. And… To you. To your Bayleef. Mimi… Do you like being alone?" He looked up at the stars.

"No… Not especially… I actually hate it quite a lot… But sometimes…"

"… You just need to get away, right? That's what I ran away for, I see now. I thought I could make it on my own, but… Mimi… I know I have a lot to atone for. But when I'm finally strong enough… Can I…" He stood to go, picking up his bag.

"Yeah?"

"Could I… Travel with you?"

"…." I looked at him in mild shock. "… Yes." I replied in a small voice. He seemed to smile a sad smile, then left the clearing without even saying goodbye. I began to walk back to camp, and I heard him say in a quiet voice, "I'm sorry. I understand I've given you a lot of grief, and if you can't forgive me, then, I understand…"

I noted a silence during which time I guessed Morty read his thoughts. "So you tried to save him?"

"I won't lie and tell you I did. I… I was too shocked to. I saw him, there… And I couldn't move. I had an antiseptic in ,my hand, for my Magikarp… I could have stopped the bleeding, but…"

I looked up, expecting to see Morty looking enraged, but instead, he put his hand on Ivan's head and ruffled his hair.

"So you blame yourself?"

"Yes."

"Well, I blame myself too. I could have stopped him, or told him to wait, but I didn't. But I can't forgive you until you do one last thing for me."

The two walked. I saw Will watching, packing up the tent. It was getting early in the morning, and I knew that Morty could sense us. He wanted us to follow him. We followed from a far enough distance that he wouldn't notice us, and we walked into Ecruteak City. At night, it was a completely different place. Ghost Pokemon roamed the streets.

_When I was little, I'd run and play among the ghosts. My father taught me to never be afraid of them. They only wanted to have fun and play tricks, and if you humored them, got spooked on cue, they'd be the best, most faithful friends a trainer could ask for._

That's what Morty had said, and it had changed my outlook on those Pokemon. I smiled as I walked past them, and one grinned in reply. Morty led us behind the Burned Tower and into a graveyard.

"It's been seven years since he died now." Morty muttered, looking at a pillar with his father's name written on it, so close to his own. I realized just how eerie it must be to see your own name on a tombstone, knowing it's a monument to someone that until fairly recently you had believed so desperately was alive. Ivan looked at it with the same stricken face. Tears welled up in his eyes. He collapsed to the ground, and I heard him apologize over and over. I stared in shock, watching the scene. It didn't strike me as pathetic or sickening, but as though I was witnessing an intimate detail of his life. I knew the moment he turned around he would see me, would be embarrassed, but for this moment, I didn't care.

The sun began to rise, breaking the horizon, beginning the morning of July 19th. Meeting Day. How prophetic this title seemed. Morty handed Ivan a small handkerchief. Ivan took it, understanding, and began to clean the grave. He was a little clumsy with it, but he cleaned it quite well for a first try. He stood and began to leave, when suddenly the six ghosts that had been floating about the graveyard stopped suddenly and turned to the grave. A man with a shocking resemblance to Morty appeared. Morty smiled and said, "How are you, father? How are things on the other side?"

"Good. I miss you all. I wish I could come back more than once a year, my son, but it's better than the alternative." He added with a chuckle. "You've grown up into a fine young man. Every paper you've burned to send to me, I've read. I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you, father. I wish you could be here now."

"As do I. And young man, son of the Rockets." Ivan looked up. "You are forgiven. Thank you for ensuring my Pokemon got to safety."

"It was… Th-the least I could do." Ivan whispered.

"Y-You knew all along…" I whispered in turn, tears rolling down my face. "Morty… You knew all along that he was dead."


	20. Chapter 20: Fear Instilled

A/N: Happy Easter, everyone!

Woo, finally into the last quarter of the chapters! For anyone wondering, I'm planning on 30 chapters for this arc, and there'll be 3 arcs, with thirty to thirty-one chapters per arc. Next is Unova~ Hopefully this chapter'll be less angsty than last one. Well, anyhoo, enjoy! R/R as usual!

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><p>Morty tried his best to pretend nothing had happened that night. But Ivan had not forgotten, nor had I, nor Will. It hurt, seeing that, knowing that despite it all, his father had forgiven Ivan, everyone. He had not asked to be avenged, or asked to make Giovanni suffer. He simply talked about what his hopes and dreams for the future, for his son, had been. But then the sun had gotten higher over the horizon and Mr. Ecru had had to leave. He disappeared with a flash of light, and Morty motioned for us to go. We went back to his house, where the Kimono Girls ushered us in. And ever since then, they'd been pulling at my hair, wrapping me in fabric, covering my face in white makeup.<p>

"Kuni, I don't need the _geisha_ treatment." I protested, but she wouldn't have it. She claimed that I was a part of something important that would happen tonight, and I needed to look my best. I heard Morty in the next room, also protesting, and in the end it seemed like none of us four really understood what was going on at all. Before I knew it, it was getting late again. The sound of _taiko_ drums beat through the walls. I felt my heart rate pick up.

_Something important._

It certainly had that atmosphere. I heard Naoko singing in the living room.

_The sun rises,_

_The sun sets_

_Never to shrink or grow_

_But the moon rises_

_The moon sets_

_The moon waxes and wanes_

_Travels to another land_

_Great Ho-oh, guardian of the sun_

_Great Lugia, guardian of the moon_

_Protect us in this ceremony_

_Give us your light_

_Give us your light_

Her song finished and we were allowed to leave. I looked at myself in the mirror. The makeup had been removed, replaced with some light red blush on my cheeks. There was little makeup anywhere else, and my hair was in two braided buns. I was wearing a red _yukata_ with a print that resembled the flower on a Venusaur's back. I knew automatically why they had chosen this _yukata_ for me. Morty's was black, and he had little done to him. He was wearing his father's scarf and brooch, and I wondered if the _yukata_ once belonged to his father as well. Ivan's _yukata _was dark blue, patterned with irregular white stripes that resembled claw-marks. Falkner appeared before Will. The flying-type gym leader was wearing his usual clothes, but with longer pants. He berated Morty, calling him "Matsuba" and saying that he needed to spend less time looking nice and more time getting ready for his performance. I looked at Kuni, who simply smiled. Morty called Falkner "Hayato" and replied that he could change when the time came. Will stepped out of his room and ran into Falkner, then blushed and apologized numerous times. Eusine appeared, wearing a _yukata_ emblazoned with diamonds, and it was time for us to go.

I was amazed by what I saw. The entire city was lit up by paper lanterns. A huge tower was in the center of the town, atop which I saw a man drumming on a _taiko_. Falkner smiled and waved at the man, before running over to the tower. Morty explained that he was Falkner's father, Walker. After his father died, Walker had changed from being strict to being a free spirit, traveling the world to become stronger. Because Falkner so rarely saw him, it was always a big deal when they got to meet. He then said he needed to go, so he left. Will ran off to play the games and Ivan went off to buy some _takoyaki_. Suddenly, the drumming stopped, and Morty stood on the stage below the tower. He was dressed similarly to Falkner, who smirked. They drew _bokuto _and began fencing. Will rattled off about how this was a Meeting Day tradition. Violet City and Ecruteak City always had an issue over who had the superior city, as they were the only two towns that retained much of their tradition. These jousting matches, which were followed by an archery competition, decided until the next year which town was superior. It was little besides bragging rights, but it was serious business. Will went on to explain that Morty was better at _kendo _but Falkner was better at archery. Sure enough, Morty won the sword fight, and targets were quickly set up. They took aim with matching bows, and Falkner consistently hit the bulls-eye. The competition ended in a draw. I later found out that while we were distracted by this, the two eggs that Ivan and Will had been taking care of hatched and flew out of Morty's house, to a faraway place that we later visited, called Alto Mare.

The Kimono Girls took to the stage afterwards, performing their dance that we had heard them practice before. It looked perfect to me, but they looked troubled about something. But then, when they stopped, holding their hands up, looking up at the sky, I knew that they were waiting for something that would not yet happen.

We all stared in awe, clapping loudly, awaiting them to bow and exit the stage. Naoko gathered her sisters together. They bowed quickly and exited the stage. Morty's face darkened as the lanterns followed suit.

"Something's wrong."

He dragged us home, where the Kimono Girls were having a fit. His mother was trying to calm them down, but to now avail. "What's wrong, you all?" Morty asked, kneeling to talk to them.

"The dance… I-It wasn't right. We must have messed up. The gods must be upset with us."

"It looked fine to me." Morty said comfortingly, placing his hand on her back. She shook him off and scowled. "It wasn't. We practiced so hard… But it wasn't right. There were no signs from the gods… We should have checked…" Morty stood and walked to the phone, then dialed a number. "Yes, this is the Gym Leader. Get me an investigation team." He waited for a moment, then spoke in a low voice. I heard "Bell Tower" before he was done. "What? A week! It'll take that long?" He composed himself and sighed, then said, "Fine. I'll be back by then." He hung up the phone and walked back over to the group of them and explained, "An investigation will begin in a week. They're investigating something in the Burned Tower right now, and they're focusing all their attention on that. Silly, if you ask me. But at any rate, Mimi." He said, addressing me, "We've got one week to get you to the Pokemon League if you want to join our investigation."

"_One week_?" I repeated, stunned. "I don't even know if I can defeat Pryce by then!"

Morty shook his head, then said, "I know it's not much time. But it's all we've got."

I nodded, and we decided that in the morning, we would head out to Mahogany Town to battle Pryce. That night, I was the last to fall asleep. I watched as my companions drifted off, as I was the only one left awake. Sometimes Morty would stir in his sleep, or Will would snore, or Ivan would mutter something. It was so peaceful, and I decided that I would ask him tomorrow.

I wouldn't mind having Ivan join us. Despite it all, I found myself wanting to know him better.

I would ask him to travel with us.

I woke up the next morning, and he was gone.

We left for Mahogany Town, none of us willing to break the silence. Morty led us to a large lake, where he said he had not gone past for quite some time. Will surfed over it easily, while Morty and I floated along lazily. We made it to the other side, and Morty explained that that was the way to get into Mount Mortar. After another, shorter path, we were in Mahogany Town. It was a pretty quiet town, but Morty immediately sensed something. "There is a huge amount of ominous energy here." Morty explained, looking around. "But there's also a lot of panicked energy coming from the Lake of Rage. We should go there first." We walked through, and I saw a sign that says, "Beware of the greedy gate!"

"What does that mean?" I asked. We entered a checkpoint and tried to pass through, but we couldn't without paying a ridiculous price. We paid for it, and headed through.

"Well, there ya go." Morty said, sighing. We were immediately greeted with the immense sight of a Gyarados, but it wasn't a blue color like most were.

It was bright red.

And it was already engaged in battle. I saw Ivan, standing on the bank, firing midair attacks with his Golbat. The Gyarados wobbled and he threw a Pokeball at it, capturing it. He looked at the ball for a moment before he seemed to realize something. He growled in anger and stormed past us, not even noticing us, not even when I called to him.

"Yeesh. Rude." Will muttered. "At any rate, should we check out that ominous energy now?"

"Sounds like a good idea." Morty replied, readjusting his scarf. "Hold on a second, though." He removed the brooch from his scarf and looked into it. He stood for a moment, his eyes closed, as he scanned the area's aura. He suddenly opened his eyes and yelled, "I saw it!"

"What was it?" Will asked eagerly. I nodded in turn.

"That Gyarados... It was forcibly evolved from a Magikarp after years of experimentation, which took place below a house out in town. It's a secret base for Team Rocket."

We nodded and the three of us ran back into town. It didn't take us long to locate it- a girl was acting suspicious, there was a weird-looking tree, and inside, there was a strange whistling noise. Morty said something to the shopkeeper, who it turns out was a Team Rocket member in disguise. A cabinet popped open and revealed a stairwell. The man asked if we were friends of Ivan's. _Figures he can use his status in these situations, _I thought, then, without replying, walked down the stairs into the hideout. The three of us split upto look for the room containing the transmitter. I ended up running into Ivan, who was back to his cold self. "So here you are again. Why do you like Team Rocket so much, huh?"

"I don't. I'm just trying to figure out why they experimented on your Magikarp."

"It doesn't matter. Tell me, before. Who was that man in the cape? With the dragon-type Pokemon? My team was no match for him. So I released the weak ones and kept my strongest. That's how I can defeat him. But losing isn't what's bothering me... It's what he said that is. He said that I don't love and trust my Pokemon enough. I'm furious I lost to someone like him..."

I looked at him with angry eyes. He had let me think that he had changed. But then I saw something different in his eyes. They weren't the same glittering gray eyes he had before- they were an intense, almost glowing scarlet. I was taken aback and quite frankly scared. "H-his name is L-lance," I said, my voice shaking like never before.

"..." He grunted. "Humph! I don't have time for the likes of you!" He shoved me out of his way and stormed out. I fell onto the ground, onto my left hand, bringing back unfortunate memories...

* * *

><p>It was when I was only 9, when we were in Unova. We were staying at one of my mother's vacation homes in Lacunosa Town. The sun was setting, but I wanted so badly to play in the snow after being forced to stay inside all day that I was allowed to go outside.<p>

"Mimi! Be sure to be back after dark!" My mother called, brushing her long, light brown curls behind her ear.

"Of course!" I yelled in makeshift Unovan. I had only gotten out of town a little ways when I saw them. The tracks weren't too deep, but deep enough to indicate a great weight. I curiously followed them. It got colder as I went on, so cold that the snow had solidified into solid, slick ice. I sighed, closing my eyes, feeling the stark, clean winter air enter my lungs. I smiled and whirled happily, seeing many Pokemon that were rare in the Unova region, even a few I recognized. I fell into the snow, laughing happily. I closed my eyes and breathed.

That's when I felt the rumbling. I heard a horrible roar and opened my eyes.

I looked into the terrifying face of Kyurem.

I leaped up and ran with every ounce of my strength. It was chasing me, but not nearly as fast as the tales said. _Remember, Mimi! If you ever see a big monster that looks like this, run! The legends say it'll eat you!_ Rosaline had warned me, showing me a picture of the beast. I screamed, desparate to deter it. But then I slipped and fell- hard- on the ice. I heard a sharp snap and a sickening pain lanced up my arm. I screamed again, doubling over onto the broken limb. It was my left arm, which I wrote with. Tears welling up in my eyes, I forced myself to stand. I raced off the ice, tore through the snow, and into the small cottage. I slammed my body against the door instead of knocking, tears running down my eyes. My mother opened the door and gasped.

"M-Mommy..." I whispered, desparate for help.

* * *

><p>I shook my head. No, no, no! I saw that ice just now, again. It was in his eyes, his speech, his demeanor. There was no way that was Ivan. Not the Ivan I had seen recently. Not the one that had, only a few days ago, told me so much. I refused to believe it.<p>

I kept going, and ran into Lance. He smiled at me and knelt. "Hello, Lady Mimi. Pleased to see you once more." I was unable to react to his chivalry as I had before. I merely nodded and said hello. He asked what was troubling me, and I told him what had happened to Ivan. He smirked for only the briefest of moments before breaking into a genuine smile, telling me it would be all right. He then walked off, saying that he had destroyed the transmittor, and to meet Morty and Will back at the entrance. I did so, and the two of us went to the Pokemon Center to heal up before proceeding to the gym. I felt a blast of cold air hit my face, but it all faded away when I saw Ivan, walking towards the Gym Leader. I ran towards him, and he picked up the pace to keep up with me. We both stopped just in front of Pryce, who laughed good-naturedly. He wore a scarf, a blue and white striped one. "Well, well! These two sure are energetic. Is this your girlfriend?" He asked Ivan, who scoffed and said, "As if." I glared back and said, "Yeah, I don't know him."

Pryce then said that we would do a double battle anyway. I sighed. Was the League suddenly bent on making us a couple? But between his ruthless use of his Gyarados's Hyper Beam and his Typhlosion's Fire Blast and my strategic use of my team, Pryce was swiftly defeated. He left the moment the badge was in his grasp.

I started to leave the gym when I noticed the floor was made of ice. I screamed, unable to exit. Pryce looked at me strangely, asking me why I was so willing to run across before. I was unable to explain, so he moved the hall of ice apart, allowing me an exit. I thanked him thoroughly and left.

Morty and Will congratulated me. However, I was still quite worried about Ivan.

_ring ring ring ring_

I picked up my PokeGear, and Will got a call too, as well as Morty. It was from Professor Elm, warning us of some strange broadcast. We quickly tuned our radios to different stations. My blood went cold.

_"Yahahahahaha! This is Team Rocket! We've taken over Goldenrod City, you betcha! Next up, we're gonna take over all of Johto, and then the whole world!_" The voice was familiar somehow...

The three of us looked at each other and nodded. It was obvious what we had to do. I dialed the number on my Pokegear.

"Hey, Rosette? Could you do me a huge favor?"

* * *

><p>"Very, very good Ivan!" The woman with the red hair said, embracing her son. "And that red color is so much more you. Those gray contacts made you look so pale."<p>

"It was nothing. I can't believe you managed to convince me to return..."

"Oh, I can believe it." Ariana whispered, looking at the small box that she had purchased from Unova. It read, _Certified Plasma Hypnosis Lenses. Guaranteed to break any unfortunate habits!_


	21. Chapter 21: Radio Tower

Chapter 21

"Is this how you wanted it, Auntie Mimi?" Rosette asked, handing us the bag. I opened it and investigated its contents. It was exactly as I had wanted. I smiled and gave her a big hug and an envelope filled with what money I had left. If this went well, I could sell these to the shops when this ordeal was done.

The three of us ran to Goldenrod City. We had no time to lose. Whitney and everyone there was in danger. The longer we waited, the more likely it was the city would be sealed off. We put on the things Rosette had made for us. Team Rocket uniforms that would fit over our normal clothes. It felt weird, putting on those clothes with the bright red R, but I managed. Will and Morty were done before me. We returned all our Pokemon to their Pokeballs and entered the checkpoint. We were allowed in (the disguises truly were flawless, and made so quickly too), and what we saw shocked us. It was nighttime, and the city was only lit by street lights, except for the Radio Tower, which had the lights on in the pattern of an R. We passed by them all, hearing threats made to police, Gym Trainers, and rebels alike. I gathered the three of us into a corner.

"We need code names. Ours are too recognizable." I explained.

"Uh... How about... Monty?" Will suggested. "I guess that's good." I said. "I'm going with my real name. Mortimer." Morty said, nodding. Using his father's name was actually a pretty clever idea.

"I guess... Since we're going with the names of our parents... My name will be Caitlin." Morty grinned. "Perfect. What a shock it'll be when _he _sees Mortimer Ecru appearing to defeat him. I'm gonna kick so much Team Rocket arse they won't know what hit them." This was the angriest I'd ever seen him, and rightfully so.

* * *

><p>Morty gave us enough supplies to get us through the Radio Tower. Will said we would take charge of getting the Gym liberated, while Morty would handle keeping the normal townspeople safe. I volunteered to take on the Radio Tower. I got a little ways towards the Radio Tower when Morty quietly called me and said, "Hey, Caitlin. Dragon-boy is here." He muttered. I replied, "Is it the L?"<p>

"Yes."

_Click. _

Upon walking in, I saw a grunt. I planned to walk right past him and get to at least an admin before revealing my identity, which was, of course, screwed up by- who else?- Ivan. He ran in and said, his eyes still red, but different than before, fairly normal now. "Hey Team Rocket! Stop going around in groups and troubling people. You're all cowards! Wait… Huh? Are you Mimi?" He leaned towards me, so close I could feel his breath on my face. That's when it dawned on me.

Ivan is nearsighted.

If this wasn't such a tense moment, I would have broken down laughing. But at this moment, he was the last possible person I wanted to see, especially in this getup. The skirt on it was modeled after the real female Rocket Grunts', and I was proud that Rosette had taken such attention to detail, but… while the rest of my outfit was safe, my skirt was just a little bit too long for this skirt. So I had had to hike it up, and the tops of my stockings were bared for the whole world to see. It was embarrassing as all get out, as I normally was dressed pretty conservatively, and now…

"What are you doing here? No way… You think you're strong now that you look like them? That's foolish. You shouldn't wear those things!"

I honestly could not believe what happened next.

He grabbed the bottom of my shirt and tried to yank it over my head.

"WHAT THE HELL, IVAN?" I yelled without even thinking. I slapped him in the face, reminding him that that was to be saved for his wife and his wife only. Even though I had clothes on under it, it was still an invasion.

"YOU SHOULDN'T WEAR THOSE CLOTHES. TEAM ROCKET IS WEAK!" Ivan yelled back. But it was too late- the grunt had seen my clothes on under it.

"An intruder! Fight me!"

"Now look what you've done." I said, angrily, then defeated the grunt in a matter of moments. I made him quiet down, then I dragged him into the supply closet. "Ivan, take his uniform." I said.

"Why the heck should I?" He muttered, "Sneaking around is a typical idea of the meek!"

"Seriously, you don't want to go under cover?"

"No! Such an idea disgusts me. I will only wear red and black on my own terms. Like this. But no matter. I'll leave this to you. I'm going to find that Lance. I'll defeat him, and then you'll be next. You'd best be ready." And with that, he left. I kicked the grunt in the face and continued on. I ended up in the underground of Goldenrod a few hours later. Morty and Will had successfully broken into the Radio Tower and were now making their way through it, sneaking around. We agreed to tell each other if we saw an admin, but I had had no luck yet. I heard noises of a battle from around the corner, and I saw Lance battling Ivan.

"You see, you have to love your Pokemon. It is for that purpose that I command you to release those mistreated friends." Lance said, his voice terribly apathetic.

"No! These Pokemon… They will get stronger. Strong enough to defeat you!" He ran past him, calling back his fainted team, and straight into me. This time, he stayed quiet. Lance looked around, then exited. Ivan didn't recognize me at first, but due to the fact that I did not challenge him, he felt he could heal up. He did so, and then when he saw me, he immediately challenged me. The battle began. It was intense, but we had to remain silent in order to keep the guards distracted. Since flashy attacks were out of the question, I won easily just by using moves like tackle and take down. After it was all over, he fell to his knees. "Why do I lose? I've gotten the toughest team together. I haven't eased up on the gas. So why do I lose? I don't understand… Is what Lance said true? That I don't treat them properly? Even Gyarados has forgotten me… Love.. Trust… Are they really what I lack? Are they what's keeping me from winning? I… I don't understand. But it's not going to end here. Not now. I'm not giving up on what I set out to do. I _will _become a better trainer than my father. But for now… I will have Team Rocket removed from this place. Maybe I can use my status for something good for once.

And once again, with that, he left.

I only got a little farther when I encountered an admin. He asked, "What's your name?"

"C-Caitlin." I said.

"And your last?"

_Think fast think fast think fast_

"Uh, Richardson."

"We don't have any 'Caitlin Richardson's in Archer's, or rather, my division, and those are the only ones allowed in here."

I gulped.

"So be a dear and tell me your real name so I can send word to your folks back home that you've died."

I shook my head defiantly, and held up a Pokeball, knowing full well he would probably mop the floor with my team. He grabbed my by my neck and pushed me against the wall.

"Tell me your name," he demanded. I managed to choke out my name.

"M-Mimi G-Grimsley."

* * *

><p>"Urgh… Y-you won't get away with this!" I cried, struggling against the ropes.<p>

Archer looked down at me, a sinister look on his face. "Oh, but I can." A grunt put a burlap bag over me, and tied it shut. "The whole world will see what happens to those who will try to stop us, you see." I felt the bag get lifted up, and I was thrown into a room. It was dark, and I couldn't see anything- not even shadows outside my bag.

"Mimi? Please tell me it's you!"

"Will? No way! They got you too?"

"Yeah… I'm sorry… Morty's still out there somewhere. I hope he's all right…"

"Me too."

Another voice popped up nearby:

"Darn it all…" It was Ivan.

"I-it's you! They didn't believe you, did they?" I asked.

"No! Giovanni wasn't there, and Ariana hates me now, it seems. Shut up, someone's coming."

Sure enough, footsteps were coming down the hall. The door swung open and I heard Archer command Petrel and Proton to take one of the bags each. We were carried back out of the room and onto the observation deck of the tower. I heard a huge CRASH and I knew that one of the building's windows had been shattered. I heard wind whipping past, the autumn chill in the air, and I shivered- this was it, I thought, the end.

The bags were untied. Archer made one final taunting comment: "You don't need a round trip ticket for a one way trip."

I steeled my nerves- It had been a fun journey. I had made a lot of friends, I was close to achieving my goal…

Maybe I could accept it and move on. Maybe some kind trainer will find my Pokemon and take them in.

I could only hope.

I felt a firm hand on my shoulder, guiding me to the edge of the building. They were about to shove me off-

BAM!

Something slammed into the person pushing me. They transferred the energy to me, and, outside again, Togii broke out of its PokeBall-

And evolved into a Togekiss. It soared under my feet and caught me in mid-air, floating me back up to the tower. Inside, there was a lot of confusion- No one could see clearly, but then, the dust cleared, and I saw Morty standing there, each of his Pokemon poised to attack.

"Sorry, Archer…" He muttered through gritted teeth, disgust in his voice, "But as a Gym Leader, the leader of Ecruteak City, a Pokemon Trainer, their friend… And _especially_ as a former member of the _Elite Four_, I will _not_ step aside and allow you to commit such atrocities."

I gasped. Will looked like he was kicking himself for not realizing it before. After all, he had added four years to his age when he first told us his age. There were other hints, too- his Pokemon's strength, his skill in battle, his kindness to us. This was one thing that was truly "off the record" to everyone.

And it shocked all of us.

Archer grinned, though. "I know your status. Don't act all high and mighty to a fellow Ecruteak trainer."

Morty seemed to forget he had Pokemon at his disposal. I could scarcely believe my eyes as he picked up a bench and hurled it at the Admin, who merely stood there, stunned, and was hit by it, square in the face. He fell over, bleeding from the nose. "AND YOU'RE A DISGRACE TO THE WHOLE CITY, YOU HEAR ME?" Morty yelled. He turned around with a smile that could kill you by freezing your heart, and said, "Any other members here wanna tell me where they're from? Eh?"

The whole lot of grunts backed up. "WELL?" The whole group of them ran off, discarding their uniforms as they ran, leaving wearing whatever they wore underneath, turning on office lights as they ran.

"Well that was effective." Ivan said.

"And _that _is an understatement." I replied. We stood and prepared to leave when the head of the tower appeared and walked towards us.

"Miss, it was you that lead this operation to save us, correct? The three of you were wearing Team Rocket uniforms earlier."

"Um… Sort of. I really couldn't have done it on my own, obviously."

"Well… I just wanted to give you my thanks. If you and your friends hadn't arrived when they did, I might be dead now." He held out a tiny rainbow colored feather. Morty gasped.

"A rainbow wing?" he asked the man. "How did you find one? They're incredibly rare, even among hunters of these sorts of things." He pulled out one of his own, strung onto a black cord around his neck. "My father gave me this one."

"I've had this since my youngest days, but I never could find the time to get to the Bell Tower, believe it or not. So now… I pass it on to you."

I looked into the man's eyes to thank him. It took only a glance to realize that this wasn't any old man.

It was Ho-oh himself blessing me.

* * *

><p>AN: Shorter chapter than usual, but I thought this would be a good place to cut it off. I am on a roll today :D

Here's to hoping I can get another chapter up before the weekend's up~


	22. Chapter 22: Mortimer Johnathan Ecru

A/N: Another short chapter! I'm considering removing my "must be at least 5 pages" rule. But then we'd probably get a lot of lazy, one page chapters. :P

This is from Morty's POV, in case the title doesn't make sense. I hope this clears up a little of his backstory for y'all. There's a whole bunch of headcanon here, so yeah. Enjoy, please R/R!

* * *

><p>Chapter 22: Morty<p>

I was always the closest one to my father.

He knew I would take over the gym one day, so he trained me to be a Gym Leader. But at the same time, he was a kind man. Every day, my mother would say, "You look so much like your father, Morty," and put my scarf around my neck before I would go outside. When it was summer, she would adjust my headband and smile. When I was five, my father took me to the Burned Tower. He told me all about how a long time ago, it was called the Brass Tower, and one day, in the Great Fire, it was destroyed to this state. It was the tower on which Lugia nested, and he moved to a faraway place, far beyond the waves. He told me that when I turned thirteen, he would find a Rainbow Wing to give to me and he would take me to the Bell Tower and tell me of the legends there.

I always looked forward to that day that never came.

* * *

><p>I'll never forget the day my father took me to Violet City. It was a cool spring day, a chill still in the air, and the sun was out. The puffy white clouds floated about. Even from a distance, I could see the hundred-foot-tall Sprout Tower. It was nothing compared to the 300-foot Bell Tower, but still quite impressive. When we entered town, I head the voices of a younger boy and two girls, as well as another boy, around my age, protesting.<p>

"Come oooooon, Hayato! We gotta meet Matsuba!"

"Um, I wanna meet him too."

"Well don't drag me, jeez!"

"c-come on, H-Hayato."

I let go of my father's hand and ran towards the kids.

"My name's Matsuba! Are you guys…"

"Whitney!"

"Jasmine."

"B-Bugsy."

"Hayato."

"Wow! And you all were looking for me?"

"Yeah! Momma said we were gonna meet you today!"

"I've actually never been outside of Ecruteak City before…" I admitted. Whitney smiled and said, "Well, let's change that! When we turn ten, let's all go be famous trainers! Like our parents!" We all agreed. It sounded like so much fun at the time.

* * *

><p>I took a lot more notice to Hayato than any of the others. While the other three loved to keep their feet firmly planted on the ground, Hayato was more likely to be flying about on the back of his Pidgeotto. Just as when I had first used my powers to float, I found myself doing that more and more. My father was so proud, so I kept doing that. I found my powers becoming sharper by the day. One night, my father couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk with him. He said he was worried about some things, and walking among the ghosts always took his troubles away. I wandered with him, and I jumped and squeaked when I heard a noise, cowering against his side. He laughed and said, "There's no reason to be so scared." He gently removed me from his side and lightly pushed me towards the ghost-type. I looked at it cautiously and it made a happy face.<p>

I found myself outside, running around with the ghosts, every night.

It got so bad Hayato started calling me "ghost boy".

* * *

><p>And then on my tenth birthday, my father went into Tojoh Falls and never came back out. He must have known, because before that day, he gave me the Rainbow Wing, his most treasured possession.<p>

I went into shock.

I couldn't move.

I wouldn't go outside and play with the ghosts anymore.

One day, I saw one of my father's Pokemon. It led me to the top of the Bell Tower. The monk there told me not to turn my back on those that mattered to me just because of the shock.

* * *

><p>When I returned home, Hayato (now going by his real first name, Falkner), Whitney, and Jasmine were standing outside.<p>

They intended to begin their journey.

However, they refused to go without me.

My father would have wanted me to be the leader, but one of his trusted friends, Eusine, came by one day and requested to take his place until I was able. I allowed him to.

We began our journey, I wish my Gastly, Falkner with a Pidgey he had caught (the Pidgeotto I had earlier believed to be his was actually his father, Walker's), Whitney with her Miltank, and Jasmine with her Magnemite.

We got stronger from fighting each other and other trainers.

And we ended up defeating the Elite Four, but not the Champion.

Falkner was ahead of me, I was third, Jasmine was second, and Whitney was the first trainers battled. It was for such a short time, however, that we held the titles. Really, for an Elite Four member, 2 years is the usual amount of time. We only held our titles for one. I was fourteen when we retired and returned to our posts as Gym Leaders.

I was fine with that life.

* * *

><p>But then Falkner called me one day and told me about a girl he had battled.<p>

I had had dreams of a journey recently, and I told myself I would not go away from home again.

Then I got a call from Whitney.

And then I met her.

My sisters had been prattling on about her.

And I had finally met her.

She was kind. Her Pokemon gave off a happy atmosphere. I had to say, though, she didn't seem special.

Until I saw her battle.

She had a strategy, a type of skill that I found amazing. It honestly didn't surprise me she was supposed to be some sort of chosen one.

And when she asked my age, I told her "21" as was the custom for Elite Four members. Once the number left my lips, it was too late to take it back, so I kept up the ruse as long as I could.

But I knew that girl was important.

I just couldn't figure out why.

* * *

><p>The day Jasmine told me the truth about my father's death, it took all my strength to keep me from destroying something. I couldn't believe it. I knew all along that he was dead, but I thought he had drowned. My father claimed to not know the details, but I knew he wouldn't tell me in order to keep my rage from exploding. When she said he fell, I thought at first he had slipped. My rage was directed at myself.<p>

But when she mentioned the blood, I knew it was the opposite.

And when she mentioned the black bowler hat, I automatically knew who did it.

Giovanni Rasso. Head of Team Rocket.

I vowed at that moment that, even if my father never asked, I would personally destroy his life, piece by piece, but then I remembered that Red had beaten me to it.

* * *

><p>I have another thing to confess.<p>

I know who kidnapped Red.

I know what's going down on Cerise Island.

I wouldn't have known if it wasn't for this frustrating, uncontrollable clairvoyance.

And I know who's controlling him.

But…

I can't put a name to any of the people.

Even though I know I've seen the kidnapper before.

* * *

><p>I wish I could go to Cerise Island right now and bring him back. Mimi keeps worrying about him. It bothers me to see her upset, to see her tears.<p>

When she told me, on the beach that night, about her own issues with her father, I saw my own face as a thirteen-year-old, barely over the loss of my own father.

And I wished at that moment I could have gotten rid of all her pain.

I wonder if that's how Whitney felt. Or Jasmine. Or Falkner.

They care about me enough, so…

* * *

><p>The investigation turned up nothing. Mimi and I and the investigation team looked the tower up and down and found nothing.<p>

How depressing.


	23. Chapter 23: Revelation

A/N: Getting down to the wire now! I enjoyed writing this chapter :D We've only got about 8 more chapters to this arc!

This might be the only update for this weekend, I don't know. But there's enough plot in this chapter to keep you going, I hope.

Thanks for reading, as usual! Please review!

-Maria

* * *

><p>Chapter 23<p>

We returned from the investigation with nothing to show for it. I was pretty amazed at the prestige with which they were chosen. The trainers that went were hand-picked by Morty himself from a pool of the trainers in town in possession of a Rainbow Wing.

The interior of the Bell Tower was absolutely gorgeous. On the screens, faded by age, stood proud images of Ho-oh, both the god and the bird itself. The quiet, teak panels that stood the test of time. The windows, carefully carved, that had seen fires, typhoons, freezes, countless autumns. Statues polished by the monks with golden, gleaming eyes, beaks, plumages. Morty explained to me why the tower was called "Tin Tower" in the olden days- as it was the sacred temple of Ho-oh, Guardian of the Sun, it was originally constructed with golden plates. However, people who worshipped Lugia more complained that Ho-oh's temple was so much richer than Lugia's, so the golden plates were removed, alloyed with tin, and replaced- the same thing happened to Lugia's tower of silver with brass, thus giving the two towers the names "Tin Tower" and "Brass Tower". However, when the Great Fire burned down the Brass Tower and many other of Ecruteak's historic buildings, the Tin Tower became the Bell Tower, while the Brass Tower became known as the Burned Tower.

Lugia was never seen in Ecruteak since that day.

"My father told me that some days, he would spend hours atop the Tower with his Rainbow Wing, hoping Ho-oh would one day appear," Morty said, "And now, I see why he would." I smiled and agreed, seeing his point. However, entering the tower alone was too much for him.

"Mimi, I hate to ask this of you, but... Could you... Like... Hold my hand while we go in?" Morty asked, flustered. "I'm sorry, it's just that... It's too much for me on my own."

"Um..." I blushed, but didn't complain. I held out my hand for him to take. "Here. I don't mind too much."

He took my hand, holding it tightly as we entered the tower. By the time we were at the top of the tower, I was worried he would cut off circulation. But he let up when we got up there. "It's beautiful up here, isn't it…?" he asked. He walked along the railing, running his finger on the cold wooden bar. He turned back to me and smiled softly, walking back over to where I stood. "Thank you for walking with me. I'm sorry there wasn't much to see…" He leaned closer to me, his eyes narrowing, and I began to feel my heart beating faster and faster.

He brushed his hand on my cheek, then looked at his fingertips. "Just as I thought…" He smiled, then looked up. "Ho-oh has blessed you after all. Sacred Ash."

"Sacred Ash?" I repeated.

"Yeah. Ho-oh carries a small satchel of this thing called Sacred Ash. It has immense healing power. Even the worst wounds can be healed by it. It can revive ten teams of fainted Pokemon, as legend goes." He leaned a little closer, and he hugged me. Not like the hug that night on the beach, when I was crying, but this one was much nicer, less comforting, more congratulating. I lightly patted his back, feeling a feeling of warmth.

"Morty…?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you hugging me like this?"

"Because. I'm happy for you." I could almost hear him smile as he said it, and I found myself smiling too.

We walked back down the tower and reunited with the rest of the search team. We returned to the Gym Leader's house and reported our findings (or lack thereof). After the others left, I pretended to not to see Will's various glares. I sighed and relaxed a little. There was one Gym Battle left, Clair of Blackthorn. She was a Dragon Tamer, like Lance. However, if Ivan's experience with Lance was any indicator, it would not be easy. So I did what I could. I asked Will questions about Clair, which he answered in roundabout ways. I asked Morty about the details of her team, which he did tell me about. I even called Maya and Alyssa, because I knew they had experience fighting Dragon-types. I gained some useful advice and we planned to keep going the next day.

In my dream, I was paralyzed in fear. Everywhere I looked, every place I turned, there was ice, ice, ice, freezing over everything, creeping up on me, absorbing everything. It started covering my feet, working its way up my body. It crept up my neck and started going over my face, slowly moving within my open, screaming mouth, choking me.

I woke up breathing hard, breaking a cold sweat, and crying. Will looked over at me.

"You were screaming in your sleep." He told me, a worried look on his face.

"I'm sorry I woke you."

"It's okay, you couldn't help it. You had a nightmare."

"Ice."

"Oh no, Mimi… You know what's between Mahogany and Blackthorn, right?"

_Ice Cave._

Ironically, my blood ran cold. I couldn't get close to even the snow near the entrance. I ran around its circumference, hoping, praying there was some other way. Even scaling the mountains was preferable to this.

"This is not funny, guys. Where's the other way?" I asked, determined to locate an alternate path.

"There _is_ Dark Cave, but it's insanely easy to get lost in there." Morty explained, "And you need Flash. Which, may I point out, _none of us have_." He sighed. "Mimi… If you want…" He offered his hand and smiled, a small blush peppering his cheeks. Will glared and I only had a little bit of satisfaction in taking his hand. He slowly walked me into the cave, and it was quickly apparent I would be completely useless in here. Will would have to fight off any wild Pokemon, as Morty would be preoccupied with calming me down. However, the first thing we saw wasn't a Pokemon.

It was Miranda. She tossed her green hair and looked at Will with contempt. "If it isn't the _hick_."

"Hello there, _miss priss_."

The battle began near-automatically. Miranda led with her Steelix. I knew why she was using steel-type attacks- electric-type attacks were not nearly as effective. Will led with his Marill, as usual, and took advantage of the freezing air to make various smaller-scale weapons for the blue mouse to use. Miranda looked taken-aback by the strategy, but she took a risk, swapping out her Steelix with her Raichu, and I figured the same mistake she had made before would happen again.

But then Will brought out a Dugtrio.

"What?" I managed to say.

"What, you think I'm just sitting around while you're going on all these Gym Battles? The league might not be my goal, but I'm definitely still training!" The Dugtrio used Earthquake, but it was all over right then and there. The icicles hanging from the ceiling fell, shattering around us. Huge drifts of ice fell, separating Morty and I from Will and Miranda. The lights strung throughout the cave to keep trainers on the right path shattered as they slammed against the wall.

And I wasn't aware of any of it until after the fact. I was too busy cowering in complete and utter terror. Morty filled me in on all that happened while he used Drift's Will-o-wisp to burn holes in the ice. It was in that moment that a shocking transformation took place. Mini, who had been floating around with us, suddenly began to grow, as did Drift. Suddenly, I was looking at both a Mismagius and a Drifblim. Morty looked overjoyed, hugging them both and smiling. There was a hole in the snow, and I could see Miranda, fainted on one of the few stone areas of the cave. Will was not too far away, also unconscious. It didn't take me long to figure out that they had been hit by the avalanche. We managed to get through the wall, if only by luck. Will had recovered, and was now obviously feeling pretty bad about Miranda. He kept looking over at her, then looking around her to check for any obvious signs of injury. When he found none, and we were able to break through the other wall, he became determined to wake her. When she finally did wake up, the first thing she did was slap him across the face. "Brute." She scowled and looked around. Or at least tried to, as the lights were still all out and the light from the entrance of the cave was not the best. It didn't surprise me when she brought out her Raichu and told it to use Flash. Automatically, the cave was lit up like a flashlight. I had an idea then.

"Blaze," I began, jumping on its back, "Use flamethrower on the ground!" It melted the ice, and after Will outfitted her with some plastic wrap to keep her hooves dry, we were off. We only got about halfway through when we decided to stop for the day. Miranda and Will had been arguing at every possible chance, over the silliest things. We stopped on a patch of rock, which Blaze quickly warmed up for us. I started to drift off when Morty suddenly jumped up.

"Everyone! Everyone! Good news!" I jolted to attention. Will lazily sat up, and Miranda glared.

"Red's safe!"

I couldn't process any thoughts besides "this must be some sort of miracle".

I tuned into the broadcast myself, and sure enough, it was an interview with Professor Oak and DJ Mary.

"So, how did you defeat Lance?" Oak asked. I was a little confused, but Morty explained the situation to me. Lance was under the mind control of someone far away, and he had managed to brainwash the other Elite Four members into a coup de tat. Red had been frozen at the bottom of Cerise Island's caverns, until he managed to get away. He was injured but otherwise completely safe. And unfamiliar voice answered his question. "I, um, I just worked with my Pokemon… It wasn't hard to do, um… There was this big bird, a really big bird, and it started to attack us, but I was able to defeat Lance before it could hurt anything."

I heard the loud sound of a heavy book being dropped onto the table.

"Can you identify it, Yellow?" DJ Mary asked jovially. I heard the flipping of pages, and then a placing of a finger on the page.

"It looked a lot like this one. Lugia."

Morty looked up at me. Will's eyes went wide. Only Miranda looked unimpressed. Red confirmed Yellow's statement.

"So, did anyone tell you about what happened here, just about a week or so ago?"

"No?" Red said, confused.

"Team Rocket."

There was a gasp from both Yellow and Red.

"But don't worry, a few rather heroic young trainers took them out… Are you familiar with 'Mimi Grimsley', 'Will Forthright' or 'Morty Ecru'?"

Everyone in the room seemed shocked when my name was mentioned. In the cave with us, though, only Miranda looked incredibly shocked. Morty looked at me with mild awe. We all jolted back to the radio when Red began to speak again.

"Isn't Morty the Gym Leader in… Ecruteak City?" Red asked. Oak made a sound of confirmation. "The other two, though… If you showed me a picture, I might know." There was flipping of papers again. "Is this them under cover?"

"Yes."

"She looks nice. He does too." Yellow contributed. I could almost hear his smile over the radio.

"Do you know anything else about her, or him?" Red asked.

"I think she's going for the League Championship. That's what I've heard from Professor Elm. I'm not sure about Will, but I know he has quite a few water-type Pokemon." Oak explained.

"I have a good friend of mine that trains water-types. Misty Cerulean. If you're listening, hi!" Red said, laughing slightly. "And as for Mimi… Sorry we won't get to battle right away. I've talked to Lance, and he said that he would be willing to take my position as Champion as long as he assembles an entirely new Elite Four. But I'll make an announcement right now. Mimi Grimsley, keep on training!"

Morty looked at me, his eyes wide. Will's mouth was agape. Even Miranda looked impressed. My thoughts stopped again when he said the next sentence.

"Because… If I ever see you, I look forward to an awesome battle!"

Miranda looked at me, rather surprised. "Huh, so even hicks have celebrities."

The fire boiled up inside of me, and Will yelled, "We are _not hicks_! We're perfectly respectable people! It's time someone like _you_ learned that!" Miranda scoffed and stood up. "It's your fault poor Ray is so exhausted. Come on, dear. Let's go." Even though I didn't like her much, she had a definite point. But if she left, we would be in the dark.

But then she went down a ladder, taking the light with her, and I stepped onto some ice.

If we were trapped, would anyone even know?

I called my mother, asking for advice. She said she would be there as soon as she could. I felt bad automatically for making her come all the way to the Ice Cave, but the minute I heard the signature sounds of psybeam, I knew she was going to help us.

The minute the light came into view, and I saw a Musharna that I hadn't seen in quite some time, I knew we were safe.

"So really, none of you had a flashlight _or_ flash?" She asked, sighing. Morty looked at her with his eyes wide.

"C-Caitlin… Cattelya?"

"Yes. Formerly Cattelya. My name is now Caitlin Grimsley. But thank you for noticing."

"Why aren't you in Unova?" Morty asked. I was thoroughly confused.

"Projected presence. I've had to stay up at ungodly hours to take challenges. But I'm still able to battle while distracted," She looked at me, and I recalled our phone conversation. Suddenly everything was falling into place. "Because as long as I'm awake, my presence over there is as well."

That's when I realized something I had let myself forget. My father wasn't the only one who received a letter. And my mother, since that day, would often pace around her room, then suddenly stop and go back to sleep. I had thought it was all nerves, but it wasn't at all.

And that's when it hit me why everyone took such an interest in me.

I have the blood of two Elite Four members running through my veins.


	24. Chapter 24: Goal

**A/N: Back to the main storyline! I figure I'll do a few more, short side chapters like the last two. Not necessarily to songs, but just information that supplements the main story. So yeah, here's chapter 24! Please R&R!3**

* * *

><p>Chapter 24:<p>

After the shock passed, I realized we were out of Ice Cave. My mother smiled over her shoulder and called out her Metagross, then zipped up into the air and away. I collapsed onto the ground, still unable to support my own weight. Morty leaned down and lightly patted my head. Will held me up by my arm and helped me get into town.

"Well, here we are! Blackthorn City!"

It was a rather quiet town, hidden in the mountains. There were old buildings, but they were all close to the ground. A cave with a huge gate stood at the end of a small lake. The gym was an ancient-looking dojo.

I sat down on a bench and I felt like singing for some reason. I didn't sing often, as I was pretty insecure about my voice. But Will always liked to hear me sing, so I figured I would. I also remembered something, buried deeply in my memory. Why Ivan's name was familiar.

I was only about five, and my father had taken me to the National Park for the fun of it. We were wandering around when I saw a little boy out in the grass, looking lonely. I walked up to him, and we started talking. His hair was short and his eyes were red, like his hair. He had a little scarf that he kept tightly wrapped around his neck. He was very pale, and very thin. I wondered what kind of parents he had. I was always healthily tanned and always, well, at a healthy weight. He looked so sad, when he asked if I could teach him something fun, I couldn't say no. He looked at me, and said, "Do you know any lullabies?" I shook my head, but my father did sometimes sing a song from a book he liked. I forget the name, as he took all them with him when he left, but I knew the lyrics so well it wasn't hard to recite. I nervously sang at first, then, after I got the notes right, I sang with a little more confidence. He knew the notes by heart almost immediately, and sang along with me. _Are you, are you, coming to the tree, where they strung up a man they say murdered three?_ My mother overheard us singing and apologized to the boy, then told him to forget the song. She told my father it was too morbid a song for five-year-olds to sing. But then eventually she figured out it was too hard to break a Dark-type specialist from such a morbid habit and gave up. But to humor her, he only sang it when she wasn't there. She knew, it's not like it was some big secret, but she was happy with the arrangement, and so was he.

But that's not the part that made me remember the boy.

The boy's name was Ivan.

I decided to sing. I sang the song I remembered, wondering if somehow my father could hear me from wherever he was. Morty chimed in about halfway through, and it turns out he read the books too. But no matter how many times I asked, he never told me their names.

Will smiled. "That brings back old times. I remember you and your dad singing. It was a really nice thing to hear." I smiled to, and hugged him, feeling like the animosity that had arisen over the past couple weeks had faded to nothing. I felt much lighter after I had sang. Even though it brought back memories, I wasn't sad. I just wanted to sleep now. So I leaned my head back and let the world fade out to the silence of sleep.

I woke up in the Pokemon Center, a little weary. The nurse said, "Oh, good, you're awake!" She explained that I had been out for a few hours now. She also said that I had a broken ankle that, even though it had healed pretty well on its own, it still needed treatment. She had also treated some of my other injuries, and that I had also shown symptoms of shock and some minor freeze injuries. Morty and Will were in the other room, recovering from their also minor injuries. I was in the center for another day or two before she let me go, with the demand that I stay off my foot as much as possible. I managed to be able to ride Blaze again, but I wasn't sure how to train to battle Clair. I saw Ivan walking out of the gym, and he looked at me knowingly. He walked over to me.

"Mimi." He simply said. He said that Clair had given him the badge solely for having a Red Gyarados, which he thought was pretty weird. He wished me good luck, then turned to leave. Then he sang softly, "Are you, are you going to the tree, where I told you to run so we'd both be free…?"

"Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be," I answered, instinctively, "if we met up at midnight in the hanging tree."

He nodded, and I nodded as well. I knew automatically that it was the same Ivan.

I called Alyssa and Maya for more advice. They both agreed to let me battle them to train. When they arrived, I chickened out pretty quickly. Alyssa's team was hardened by years of tough training in icy places, while Maya's team was League-caliber. Kate was out of the question. Rosaline was too far away. And there was no way Rosette was last-Gym-Leader-ready. I was having a conundrum. Suddenly, a girl with a black baseball cap ran up to me. "Morty! It's been forever!" It took me a minute before I recognized her as Sylvia.

"Mimi, was it? We never did get to have that battle!" I was a little overwhelmed by her enthusiasm, but a battle was just what I needed. She brought out her Umbreon, and I brought out my own Umbreon.

"Okay, Midnight! Use shadow ball!"

"Umber, dodge! Use iron tail!"

The ball of shadow collided with the ground, causing an explosion that kicked up dust. The dust cleared and Midnight was blown back from Umber's attack. However, it got up extremely quickly. The two kept battling, but it was pretty obvious I was at the disadvantage. I kept up with the dodge-and-attack strategy, but it was to no avail. Umber was defeated pretty quickly. I ran to its side and Sylvia informed me that the reason that she was so powerful was because she was entering the Interleague Tournament next year, and needed to be stronger. She also told me that Red was entering.

_That_ convinced me that the Interleague would need a visit from me.

Morty told me about it after Sylvia left (and wished me good luck). Basically the concept is that the top trainers from each region meet at the Indigo Plateau and battle in a huge tournament. The winner is celebrated as the hero of the whole world. I knew I didn't have much of a chance to be the champion, but a tournament sure did sound pretty cool.

I trained for a little bit more every day for the rest of the week. Morty looked over the condition of my Pokemon and decided we were ready to go. I made my way to the Gym. Clair stood at the end of a huge path of lava, with rotating blocks separating us. The guy at the beginning of the gym gave me a bottle of water and warned me to put away my Pokemon unless completely necessary. I made my way over and saw her for the first time. She was beautiful, honestly. Her outfit lent to the "dragon tamer" image she projected. It was a skintight, dark blue leather minidress, a long black cape, and her hair was tied up in a ponytail that made her look like a dragon herself. There was a huge Dragonair behind her, poised for battle.

"This will be a one-on-one battle. You are expected to lose, I should add. For you stand before Clair Blackthorn, the 'Blessed User of Dragon Pokemon'!"

That got my blood boiling. I didn't want to flaunt my status that I only recently figured out, but I replied, "Well, it seems you'll be having a hard time with that. For _you_ stand before Mimi Grimsley!"

She smirked. "Oh, Elite Four parents? I remember battling your sister. She was strong. But she was nothing like you."

"Unluckily for your trash talk, I take that as a compliment."

"Whatever! Dragonair, go!"

The blue, serpent-like Pokemon sped forward, and a battlefield of lava appeared under our feet. I was confused why we didn't fall in, and fairly panicked honestly, until I realized we were standing on a platform of glass.

I knew what I had to do.

"Leafy, you're up!"

I heard Will and Morty groaning behind me. I had been forewarned that Dragonair was capable of both fire- and ice-type attacks, but I didn't care at the moment. Leafy was the only one capable of the attack I knew would, well, turn the tides of the battle.

"Dragonair, ice beam!"

"Leafy, quick!" Leafy knew there was no other way around it. He threw up a barrier of leaves, which, though fairly useless, managed to disorient Dragonair. "Now, try to get up into the air!" Leafy made a valiant leap, and was a few yards off the ground. Dragonair flew at it and Headbutted it up even further.

"Now, Leafy! Use the altitude against it! Take Down!"

Leafy obeyed, slamming against the Dragon-type. Leafy was not as heavy as Dragonair, but it was compacted into a small-enough space that was able to drag it down quickly, into the glass. With a sickening, but expected, crack, the glass cracked straight in the sweet spot I had been aiming for.

"Now, get out of the way!" I yelled, my confidence being replaced with panic. I knew that Dragon-types could survive conditions like lava, but it would damage them. The glass broke and Dragonair, still stunned from the attack, fell in. Leafy was almost to the edge when it shattered. It was a couple feet down, and I had just enough time to have Sora use psychic on Leafy to stop his fall and bring him back up. I hugged the grass-type tightly, thanking it for the attack. Clair returned her Dragonair to its Pokeball. It was fine, other than having fainted. She glared at me, as I stared at her, expecting a badge.

Instead she turned around, walked behind the emblem of the Rising Badge, and left me, standing awkwardly, in the gym.

I returned my team to their Pokeballs and then went to see what the problem was, from the point of view of Will and Morty.

"She's very proud." Will said simply. "Doesn't take it lightly when people defeat her without Dragon-types."

"I know her, she's my cousin. She _cannot_ take a loss well. Like, the only person she likes a lot is Lance. Not even kidding. They're supposed to get married and everything."

"_whaaaaaaaaaat_?"

Now _that_ was a shock.

"No, really. But I'd advise going to the cave we saw. She's probably in there, talking to the elder." The three of us left the Gym, and Morty guided us to the cave.

"This is it, Mimi." Morty said, walking with me. Will nodded approvingly. While he wasn't going for the League, like me, he still wanted to become strong. I went through the cave, feeling the bridge creaking as we walked. It was dark in there, and a bit eerie. Only the sound of whirlpools and moving water could be heard. Occasionally the cry of a dragon Pokemon.

And then we heard Clair yelling.

We went into the shrine where her voice could be heard, and the Elder called me over.

"This is the girl, correct?"

"Yes!"

"Well, you're the one in the wrong, Clair."

"_What_?"

I felt a faint twinge of satisfaction.

"She defeated you. She may have not defeated you in the way you pleased, but rarely will that be the case. Give her the badge."

"No!"

"Clair." The old man said with a serious tone to his voice. "Listen to me."

"…. Fine…" She seemed to give up, and gave me the badge. "This doesn't mean I agree or whatever. This is just because he told me to."

I took the badge anyway, and the feeling that rushed through me is indescribable.

I was so close to my dream that I wanted to leap into the air, and yell and laugh triumphantly.

But I managed to hold it in until I got outside. Then I was all over the place. I was yelling random challenges to Lance and the Elite Four, I was bounding around town, I was laughing like a maniac, I was telling random passersby what just happened (And their faces could only be described as: \(ಥДಥ)/), and I was hugging Will and Morty most of all. When I was finally tired out, I looked to the mountains that hid the Indigo Plateau.

The Gracidea Valley contest would be soon.

And after that, there was just one thing left.

The League.


	25. Chapter 25: Finality

Chapter 25:

It was about a week later when we finally reached Gracidea Valley. The valley was near Mt. Silver, an immense peak that dominated the landscape between the Indigo Plateau and the Johto region. The village in Gracidea valley was nestled between that mountain and a smaller mountain. The first signs that you were nearing the valley were the distinctive scent of the flowers and the sight of the emerald green grass. There were solar panels on roofs, windmills on hills, and quaint, sweet-looking cottages that housed the equally sweet townspeople. There were many an arbor archway around the town, and quite frankly, every time I stepped out of my room in the hotel we stayed at and went outside, I often spent at least ten minutes just admiring my surroundings.

Gracidea flowers are little pink blossoms. They look sort of like starfish, and are a very interesting flower. It's meant to imply friendship, a bond, sort of like destiny. Every year, during this time, the Gracidea Festival was held, making it a perfect time for a contest like this. During the Gracidea Festival, every person in the valley partook in a variety of games- friendly Pokémon battles, baking contests, even more common things like games of chance and skill. On the final night of the Festival, it was said that the Goddess of the Peaceful Warriors, Shaymin, would arrive from the heavens and collect the gathered Gracidea flowers from each home so as to say, "I look forward to seeing you again!"

Upon entering the town and checking into our hotel, the receptionist of the hotel handed each of us a corsage of Gracidea flowers before handing us our room keys. My room was near the top floor and was a rather spacious one. It had a lovely view of the town, but no balcony. It had one twin bed, like I had at home, a television, a nice chandelier, and a small kitchen area with a mini fridge, a small freezer, a microwave, and a small stove-topped oven. There was also a couch over on the other side of the room. Pleased that I had it entirely to myself, I finally, for the first time in what felt like months, I was able to completely empty my bag. I placed my dirty clothes in a dry-clean bag that the maid would collect, put on my pajamas, and settled onto my bed to watch some TV. It was strange at first, seeing myself on the screen, but when they interviewed my mother she looked quite proud. I reached for my Pokegear and dialed my mom's number. As it rang, the maid knocked on the door. It had only been one ring, so I hung up the phone.

"Come in!"

The maid was a young girl, probably in her late 20's. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun and her outfit was a frilly pink dress with a light green apron. "Are you enjoying your stay, Miss Grimsley?"

"So far, everything is great. Thank you."

She smiled, and then pointed to the bag she had just picked up. "These are your travel clothes?"

"Yes," I replied, pulling the quilt at the end of the bed around my shoulders, "If you could get them back by 8 tonight, that would be great."

"No trouble at all, miss." She smiled and started to leave, then nervously pulled out a piece of paper. "Um, I know you're not a champion yet, but can I get your autograph?" I laughed a little bit when I saw her paper. Already scrawled on it was a huge scribble that barely could be read as _Will Forthright _and a much neater script that was easily read as _Morty Ecru_. I signed below, _Mimi Grimsley._ She looked pretty happy, and she thanked me before curtseying and exiting the room with my clothes in the bag. I called my mother again, and this time she answered after only three rings. We talked for a short while about having reached Gracidea before she asked about my strategy for the contest. I told her what I planned to do- accessorize Togii well, figure out an unreplicable dance, and pick out the best moves to show off his newfound grace. She seemed to approve of it, but was also a little disappointed about my confidence- "You and I both know how well _that _usually plays out, dear Mimi."

"I know mom, but I really feel like I can do this."

"Very well. You are getting old enough to make your own decisions... But I'm sure you're aware that after that stunt at the Radio Tower, any little mess up will not be easily forgotten."

"I understand... It's a little bit scary though."

"I know, dear. But you're strong enough to do it. I believe in you."

I smiled. "Thank you so much, mom."

"Now go practice when your clothes come back. You want them to see you preparing, so even if you lose, you do so with grace."

"Got it! Thank you! I love you, bye!"

I heard her laugh an "I love you too" before hanging up.

I must have drifted off, as I was awoken a few hours afterwards by a knock on the door. The same maid from earlier came in, holding my clothes neatly folded. I thanked her and handed her some money as a tip, which she accepted fairly quickly. I smiled and tried to get back to sleep, but found it difficult to. I flicked on the TV to watch a movie. As I began channel surfing, I saw that a series of Red's Adventure reruns were on. It was the episode on the S.S. Anne.

The next morning was a beautiful one. I woke up late though, which I guess is something that a home-like feeling can do to you. I got dressed in my usual clothes and headed downstairs for breakfast. I saw Morty and Will there, but also Rosette and Rosaline and Alyssa and Maya and Ivan and even Kate. I ran up to the table at which my cousins sat and greeted them both with a hug. Rosette ran up to me with a bag with some clothing in it that she told me to open when I sat down. Even Kate greeted me in a surprisingly kind way, even going so far as to ask if I slept well. I began to wonder if she had hit her head or something. But then she made a snarky comment on Alyssa's necklace and things resolved quickly to normalcy. Rosette followed me to my table, where I was seated between Rosaline and Morty. She sat next to her mother and looked on as I took the tissue paper out of the bag. Inside were several pieces of clothing that Rosette had hand-made for me. A pair of jeans, a red blouse, a white skirt, a black sweater and matching sweater tights, a pink, long-sleeved turtleneck, some gray pants, and a blue denim overdress. The next few outfits were stunners though. One was a white dress with gorgeous white feathers attached, a comb with blue and red feathers that threaded into my hair, and long white gloves with a plumage of red and blue on the cuffs. The next one was a long black evening gown with a yellow ring around the waist. It had an asymmetrical neckline and the fabric glittered like stars. The one just afterward was made of some sort of material that rippled like waves, with small red crystals sewn onto the neckline. The next one was a brown dress with a shorter skirt, but with a leather jacket with red strips of leather that made it resemble wings. She rooted around in her bag and handed me two others. The first one that caught my eye looked like it was on fire, and it almost appeared to be, until I realized the flames were just many, many pieces of red, orange, white, and blue glass sewn onto the dress in a flame pattern. The final dress was green, plain linen, and had long, flowing pink sleeves that resembled flowers. It included two ribbons that could be tied into my hair and braided in, and white go-go boots that complemented the look. By the time I was done looking at them, there were tears in my eyes.

"Rosette... Why did you do all this for me?"

"Because you had less fashions than the rest of us! Everyone else has nice clothes, but I never saw you with nice clothing on. And I wanted you to be my model! Because Auntie Mimi is the least scary Auntie!"

A quiet hush fell over the dining room. And then I heard a flat what from Alyssa.

"It is true! And you are closest to my age, more than anyone else!"

"That is true." I replied, hugging her tightly, the tears starting to flow freely now. I held her close for a few minutes before she finally said, quietly, "Auntie Mimi...?"

"Yes?"

"Those last dresses... I got here earlier, with Auntie Kate. And we spent a lot time together. We went shopping and I was obtaining fabric, when she said, 'Why don't you make a bunch of dresses for Mimi?' and when I asked her why she didn't buy them, she said she was not great at color wheels!"

"That's _enough_, Rosette. Sissy, can I talk to you?" Kate said, suddenly looming over us, a death glare in her eyes. "In private?"

She grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of the dining room and into the hall. She pushed me up to the wall and glared at me.

"I didn't know any other way to say it."

"Huh?" I was too stunned to move, much less protest of any sort.

"I... I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry I was such a... A bitch when we were younger. I just... I was mad at you, because you were always moping around and saying it was your fault daddy left. So I let you believe that it was your fault so you would get over it. And the reason why I made Rosette make you those dresses... I came up with them myself, okay? I just had her make them and pick out the colors. I... God, Mimi, I'm color-blind. That's why I couldn't do it myself. And... I guess I'm sorry I wasn't nicer to you when we met earlier. I just... I hadn't expected you to have... Grown up."

I was surprised, to say the absolute least. She looked angry, but it wasn't as intense an anger as she usually had. Instead, it seemed more retrospective an anger. I awkwardly walked up to her and tried to hug her, but she pushed me away. She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it and turned and left. I was left standing in the hallway, unsure of what to do. After a few minutes, I walked back in to see that everyone else had gotten a similar treatment. I smiled as I gathered up my dresses, wiping away my tears, and walked back up to my room. I hung up each dress with care before slowly trying each one on. I looked in the mirror. Each one was fitted perfectly, as though it was a second skin. I no longer doubted that Rosette was a stylistic prodigy. I felt like a princess, and each dress captured its element well. Togii's dress made me feel like a diamond, perfected and shining. Umber's dress made me feel as mysterious as the night. Trent's dress made me feel like the calm, yet powerful rush of water. Blaze's dress made me feel as strong and warm as a flame, while Leafy's dress made me feel secure like a rooted plant, yet reminded me that there was still so much room to grow. I finally changed back into my orange t-shirt and pink sarong skirt and felt like less of a princess and more of a commoner. My skirt had been worn down, even with the dry-clean, and was becoming quite threadbare. I would have to replace it soon. I remembered the outfits that Rosette had made for me and began to wonder if I could just settle for wearing one of those for the last few days of my journey. It wouldn't be long now. But then I reminded myself of sentiment- I started this journey in this outfit, I'm going to finish it in this outfit, even if I have to patch it up constantly.

There was a knock at the door, but I was too tired to acknowledge visitors, despite it still being early in the day. I knew I would need to get to training soon, so I allowed myself a few hours of relaxation with my Pokemon by my side. When I woke up, I felt refreshed and reinvigorated. I strode outside into a small clearing and I began working on, first, our dance. I wouldn't know the theme for the costume until the day of the contest, so I decided to get advice from Alyssa on that later. I started by doing a sort of scissor-step to the front, then sliding to the side, then shuffling to the back and ending with a jump-kick on an off-beat to the left. It was a pretty good routine, as only the Pokemon I first performed it with was able to successfully replicate it. Next were the appeals. After the dresses from that morning, I decided to give my other Pokemon a chance. I imagined looking like an opera singer as Togii spun in the air gracefully, then used psychic, causing a purple distortion of space, just for long enough to give a dramatic effect. Looking like a mermaid, spinning in a pirouette as Trent swirled a waterfall around me. Resembling a cowgirl as my "wings" flapped in a silver wind. Like a supernova emerging from a shadow ball. A tongue of fire spurting out of a flare blitz. And finally, a sprout leaping from a frenzy plant. It took only a moment for me to decide who I would be entering in the contest after that.

That night was the first night we could spend at the Gracidea Festival. It was a little like the festival at Ecruteak, but it also had parades. From what I could tell, it began before the great Winter Fast, so that all the townspeople could have fun and enjoy the flowers. Once they had been taken away by the Goddess, the festival was over and they had to give up something for the entirety of Winter. It wasn't as practiced anywhere else, now, but the tradition had begun in Gracidea and for a time was wildly popular elsewhere. From the way Rosaline and Rosette were living it up though, it seemed like it was still in full swing in Unova. Besides the parades, it also had plays, dancing, and competitions for skills, such as singing and drawing. I wandered off by myself and saw a girl with short black hair, wearing a blue shirt and a black and white skirt, watching a performance and sketching a picture in a small notebook. The picture caught my eye. It wasn't particularly great, nor was it terrible. It was a so-so picture, but it had a sort of life to it. The girl seemed to notice me looking at her book and smiled slightly. "Hello." She said simply, then resumed drawing. "If you'd like to watch, get a chair and have a seat. I'll be a while." I saw a tiny Furret snoozing at her feet and a box filled with colorful pens, pencils, crayons, and markers. The Furret stretched and lightly scratched at her ankle. She set down the notebook and held the tiny ferret as they watched the performance. I gestured to the notebook and asked if I could look through, and she said yes. Inside were doodles of every sort, people, Pokemon, places. It was really a sight, some of them. The pictures of the Furret were increasing in quality when I had to leave- Rosette was calling for me. "Um, before I go, what's your name?"

The girl looked up and smiled. She adjusted her glasses and said, "I go by many names, all depending on the time and place. But you... You can call me Maria Magi, Mimi." She packed up her things and left, and it wasn't until a lot later that I realized that I had never told her my name.

A few more days of preparation passed without incident, yet every day I ran into that strange girl. It seemed she was able to tell me a great deal of things, but they were all mystically told. "If I tell you too much, you'll mess up the plot," she would say. After the last day before the contest, though, I stopped seeing her anywhere. I tried asking others if they had seen her too, but so far it seemed like only Rosette believed me. Even Kate, whom I had believed was starting to grow out of her petty ways didn't believe a word I said about her. Finally I asked the maid (her name was Molly) about her, and she said that she is likely some sort of friendly muse or something. I thought it was weird, but whatever.

The contest began without a hitch, something that everyone seemed very happy about. Because it was such a quiet operation, only the participants were widely told about it. Despite it all, I found I was stunned when Ivan was nowhere to be found. Turns out he had chosen to skip out on the contest because he had more important things to do than play games for girls. Will's quote of his exact words, not mine. The news cameras arrived and began rolling. There were no weirdos hanging around the stadium, and security was very tight. I walked into my dressing room and got myself ready.

I walked out into the camera light when they called my name. I threw my Pokeball up into the air and Leafy emerged in a plumage of flowers, petals, and leaves- seals borrowed from Alyssa. He landed with a flourish in front of me, and I did not feel like a sprout.

I felt like a wild rose.


	26. Chapter 26: Growing Up

Chapter 26:

I was unsure why, but the crowd was very enthusiastic, much more enthusiastic than would be expected by its small size. It sounded like the Goldenrod Stadium, even though the crowd was less than half that size. I walked to the other side of the stage, allowing Rosette to go next. They called her name, and she walked onto the stage draped in green tulle that resembled vines and leaves and flowers. She also entered with her starter, now a completely serpentine creature that held its head high into the air. She smiled and waved, jumping up and down with the excitement of being in the spotlight. I smiled, nervously playing with one of my braids. Morty was wearing a sharp-looking tuxedo with a heavily starched collar that stood up in the back like a will-o-wisp. His Gengar stood next to him, watching a moth flitting around with an expression of mild entertainment. Will stood nearby, wearing a blue outfit that looked a bit like a parka but was surprisingly lightweight to match his Marill. Rosette ran down into the behind-the-scenes area. Next was Rosaline, who was wearing a red, white, and blue flight attendant uniform that looked like her Braviary. Next was Alyssa. She looked gorgeous in her dress, a short sweater-dress with a hood that resembled a Piplup. Snowball jumped up into the air behind her, cheering triumphantly. She made her way over to us and grinned, holding the tiny penguin. Finally, it was Maya that strode onto the stage, her head held high as she threw a Pokeball high into the air. It popped and revealed Kitty, who turned in the air and landed gracefully at her feet. Her dress was a pink outfit that had cat ears on a headband. She posed complementing the Skitty, and the two then walked offstage. The announcer said that the theme was "The Natural" and gave us ten minutes to accessorize our Pokemon. I investigated the accessories that Alyssa had loaned me- many odds and ends and some things that shocked me could be considered "accessories". I placed some leaves on Leafy's neck, making it look like the flower was a real flower. I continued, trying to make Leafy look like some sort of tree. Time was called, and we walked out onto the stage again. Will went first, displaying his Marill's costuming- bubbles and shells and glitter. The crowd wasn't very impressed. Then Morty went, with his Gengar holding some purple gunk and some glitter, and a bowtie. The crowd was, once more, unimpressed. I showed off Leafy, and they sort of stared at me blankly. Rosette followed, and she had done much of the same as me. They just sort of blinked again. The same reaction was for Rosaline as well. But then Alyssa walked onto the stage with quite possibly the weirdest possible arrangement of accessories, and the crowd went absolutely wild. Maya's costuming looked odd too, but she still garnered a fair amount of cheers. The rest of us were pretty stunned. These Sinnoh Rules were pretty bizarre, if _that_ was considered natural.

Next was the dancing portion of the contest. Morty went first, and though his dance was graceful, he had a hard time shaking off the rest of the competitors. Will went next, and though his dance was good by design, Marill was just not agile enough to pull it off. I was a little bit disappointed to see that, though Leafy did an excellent job with his dance, Snowball and Kitty had no problem following, nor did Rosaline's Braviary. Rosette's dance was overwhelming in cute points and was a little hard to follow to boot. But it was the last three that threw everyone off. And _that_ did not go well for any of us.

Finally, it was time for the appeals. It was stated prior to beginning the final appeals that Snowball was leading in points.

Morty went first. He had Gengar use shadow ball. The orb flew up into the air and Gengar leaped up and smashed it, causing the specks of darkness to fall all around the two of them. The crowd cheered a deafening round of applause. Will went next. Marill used bubble beam up in the air, then used his tail to leap up into the air and spun around in circles before landing in a graceful pirouette. A bunch of girls cheered for the grace of it and the guys mostly cheered because he somehow managed to make water explode. It was actually really, really awesome.

I held my breath as we prepared our appeal. Leafy began to focus his energy and unleashed frenzy plant. It had taken a lot of doing for him to learn it, but it worked like a charm. I felt the ground begin to rumble under my feet and I flew up into the air as the tree shot up under me. I tumbled through the air and managed to land on my feet, holding my hands up. The crowd clapped and started to cheer, and I felt like I was on top of the world.

My turn was over after that. Rosette had Smugleaf use Substitute, then had it use Leaf Sword to destroy the substitute. The crowd was very impressed by her skill, and she had a standing ovation for at least two minutes. Rosaline was next. She had her Braviary use whirlwind. At first the crowd began to panic as Rosaline was sent flying, but she pressed a button on her belt and suddenly her sleeves opened to become wings. She soared around with her Braviary, and then landed, detaching the extra flaps of fabric from her dress. She got a pretty amazing standing ovation too.

Alyssa was called to the stage next. She stood on one end of the stage and Snowball used surf. The wave began to surge towards her when she twirled her hand, switching it to whirlpool. The whirl raged around her and Snowball then froze it with ice beam. Alyssa then walked up the swirl of the frozen whirlpool and jumped down from the ridge to thunderous applause.

Finally, Maya took to the stage. There was a collective gasp as she yelled, "Okay, Kitty! Use assist!"

Kitty leaped into the air, moving her paws around wildly before opening her mouth wide and shooting a hyper beam. Instead of fleeing from it, Maya jumped into the light, dancing like a ballerina. She exited the beam no worse for the wear, leaving everyone completely stunned. She then held her hand up into the air, which had a pink glove on it, and light shot out of her palm. It went up like a shower of sparks, thus revealing where she stored all that energy. It was like a firework had been encased within her palm.

The crowd was silent for a long time. But then they began to cheer. Wildly, then they began to make some sense of _what just happened _and gave her a lengthy standing ovation. She stood there for a good five minutes, catching her breath. Finally she was allowed offstage. It was about then that I noticed that Kate was not in attendance.

"She said she had... Something to do." Rosaline explained, brushing a stray hair out of her face. Rosette was overjoyed with her own performance and was spinning in a circle with Smugleaf. A few minutes of voting later, we all went outside, back up onto the stage. It was then revealed... That it had ended with a tie, as our appeals were all quite amazing, and the first two rounds were just too embarrassing for it to count for everyone else. Well.

I walked back to my room and fell onto my bed. Exhaustion was overcoming me, and I was asleep after only one or two minutes with my eyes closed. The next morning was the day we had to leave, and the Gracidea Festival had just ended. I packed up my bag again, keeping each and every item in its proper place. I tucked a small portion of my prize money on the table for Molly, then finished getting dressed. Instead of the low ponytail I had been wearing, I tied it up high. I decided I liked this better than the other way. Then I tucked the Rainbow Wing into my ponytail, tying it securely into the base. I smiled at my reflection, took my bag, put on my boots, and left. I checked out of the hotel, reunited with Will and Morty, then went shopping for supplies and things we would still need. Rosette and Rosaline caught up to us. "I am returning to Unova! I will not stay here in Johto. I am sorry, Auntie Mimi! But you will come visit, yes?" Rosette hugged me. "Promise?"

"I promise." I answered, hugging her back before letting her go. "Keep training. I promise I'll visit soon!"

She looked overjoyed at my answer. She ran back to her mother and the two flew off to the Goldenrod Airport to go home. Morty was finished supply shopping soon after and we then left the Valley, smiling back at the fond memories that we had there.

After a short time, we were faced with an immense cave. Morty swallowed hard as we entered. There were two huge waterfalls and one rickety bridge stretching between one rock wall and another. I saw a sign that looked like a small pillar. Morty walked towards it. "In memory of the disappearance of Mortimer Jonathan Ecru, Leader of the Ecruteak City Gym, Master of the Ghost Type, Proud Father, Kind Husband, Brave Son. Our hearts are with him until he is found." he read, stepping back from the plaque. I looked around the cave. There was a Haunter hovering over a spot in the water. It seemed to recognize Morty and lifted us up into the air. It placed us on the bridge before disappearing, laughing a strange, Ghost-like laugh. I heard the sounds of a struggle coming from a cavern under the waterfall. I soon recognized Ivan's voice, and a strongly accented, man's voice.

"You are no father of mine! I refuse to be... to be used like that _ever again_!"

"Ivan! You listen to me, you are always my son, always my heir, whether you like it or not! My blood is your blood! Your name is my name, and there is nothing you can do to change it!"

Morty glared down at the cavern.

"I... I may have the same name. I may have the same blood. But..." He spat, and I could hear the anger and contempt in his voice. "I am nothing like you."

I heard the roar of a Gyarados and we shifted out attention to the waterfall. There was a splash of water as something erupted from the falls, revealing the silhouette of a man being attacked by a red Gyarados. He fell into the water, but got back up, fleeing the scene. The Gyarados swam back around, and Ivan stepped onto its back. It swam out of the cave and after the man.

The rest of the cave was walked in silence. When we made it back outside, the sun was almost blindingly bright. We made our way forward, being wary of Ivan's rampage that was likely occurring. Morty was pretty shaken, if not outright furious. So, to evade anything that could cause any harm to any of us, Will and I did the intelligent thing. We kept our mouths firmly shut. A bit later, he seemed to have recovered as he built the fire in our campsite. After everyone else had fallen asleep, I was still awake, staring up at the stars and quietly humming a song to myself. It was a very empty sort of feeling, watching the moon slowly make its arc across the sky. How monotonous it must be to be a planet, or a heavenly body of every sort. Just slowly turning, revolving, moving in an orbit around a bigger body, which revolved around a bigger body, which in turn was ruled by an even larger thing. Now that I thought about it, that's how a lot of things are. We revolve around out goals. Our goals revolve around our future. And our futures all revolve around one another... It wasn't the sort of thing a thirteen year old girl just thinks, I know, but it was the sort of philosophical thought that such a moment brought on.

The remainder of the way to the last route before Victory Road was a trek, involving lots of rock walls and bridges and waterfalls and surfing. When we finally made it, I was pretty shocked to find out that we had made it in only a few days' time. There was a sort of tube leading into a rock face that I knew would take me up to the summit of Indigo Plateau. I stepped inside and... It was like the lobby of a four-star hotel. There was a red velvet carpet leading off in three directions. One lead to the left and was heavily guarded by police, while the entrance to the right was not very heavily guarded but did have a customs officer. Ahead was an unguarded path that had a young nurse and a small convenience store. I got in the overly-long line to get my Pokemon healed. I heard them complaining that there was a redhead that had swept through everyone. I thought about it for about five minutes before I wondered if it was Lance, making a practice sweep before taking on the day's challengers. I continued through the line, and the three of us got our team healed to perfect health. Morty checked the prices on revives (surprisingly cheap), so he bought a bunch. Then, before we entered the caverns, he handed me six max revives and a bag of Sacred Ash. "You'll need it. I've been through this road before... It's pretty terrible. You might think that the Elite Four and Champion are your big test..." he laughed, a bitter sort of laugh. "Oh no. _This _is the challenge. It weeds out the challengers. People get lost in here. Some never come back out. I bought us a bunch of flashlights... We'll need them." He took an escape rope and tied it around his waist, then mine, then Will's, and tied the other end to the first part of the cave. "This way, we're guaranteed to get out alive."

We began walking. It was pitch-dark within the cave. The lack of light only enhanced the creepiness of what Morty had told us. I could tell that even he was visibly creeped out. We heard wild Pokemon moving around, but when we did, we stopped moving and stood completely still until they left. There were no other trainers, even when we turned on our lamps. The Victory Road had become a ghost town. At one point, we heard an unbelievably loud rumbling. Then, suddenly, an Onix surfaced right in front of me, slicing the rope holding us all together. I grabbed the Onix's horn, hoping it would get me out, so I could get help. I felt a rope lasso my ankle and we found ourselves on a lighted area of the cave. I could see clearer than before, and I found that it was a Steelix I had grabbed onto. Morty had grabbed onto one of the little outcroppings of metal on the Steelix's body, while Will was struggling to hold onto the rope. A pale hand with a yellow ribbon tied around its wrist grabbed his hand and lifted him up onto the rock.

"Great job, Stella." Miranda smiled proudly as she returned the Steelix to its Pokeball. "Looks like I saved you all again." She sat down on the back of her Zebstrika and crossed her legs, shooting us a mildly smug look. Will glowered a nasty look away from her, looking over at the walls. They were lit with little fairy lights so as to give a little light, as if to say, "You've nearly made it!" Miranda tossed her hair and gestured ahead. "There's someone waiting for you up ahead, Mimi." I started walking, and Will started to follow me, but she grabbed his arm. "Woah, no way. You owe me."

"I don't owe you nothing!"

"Ha, yeah right. I've saved you, what, three times now?!"

"Shut up!"

The sounds of their arguing slowly faded out as I discovered that the redhead that had swept through the trainers in Victory Road was not Lance at all.

It was Ivan.

He turned around, his red eyes a cold glare. "Hmph. I see you've managed to catch up with me. It's because of that girl with the ribbons, right?"

"Well, I was making it just fine until she showed up. But yes."

"Hah, figures. I know you saw me confront Giovanni. My Haunter... I told him to wait for you. I wanted you to see it. I wanted to show that... To show you that I was strong too! Every bit as powerful as you! And I don't need love or affection or anything! I don't want or need your pity!"

His words stung. He had called me powerful, but had rejected any human warmth? What the heck was he thinking?

"The trainers... Every other one of them is so, so weak. I can defeat so many people, and yet... You... Beating you is like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands. You..." He walked close to me, his face inches from mine. "You... _always_ win. It makes me so angry! I can defeat anyone but you! And you... You're always this warm person! You give things to people that don't deserve them. You... You pamper your Pokemon. And... You... The thing that makes me so angry is that... You don't hate me... And I _like _that you don't hate me."

"... What."

"No, don't you dare start pitying me! I'm challenging you to a battle, darnit, and if you're going to get all PMS on me-"

"Woah, woah, hold up. You did not just accuse me of having PMS." _What._

"I-It was unintentional! I'm just saying, y-you better not turn me down, or else you're a coward! O-or something!"

"..._What_."

"Shut up! Shut up! Just shut up and fight me!"

At this point I was so confused I'm sure that I was just staring at him like how the entirety of the Gracidea Valley contest stared at my costuming.

"Uh..."

"I said fight me! The best trainer gets to battle Lance! O-or I... I... I'll punch you! I-In the face!"

"Ivan, you're acting like an idiot."

"I-It's because... Y-you're acting like an idiot!" Nothing prepared me for what happened next. He suddenly embraced me and lightly took my chin in his hand. He tilted my head up and kissed me.

Oh my god, _kissed me_.

It was too gentle for him, but... Somehow I felt that was the reason he was getting so flustered.

His lips weren't like rose petals or anything purple-prose-y like that. They were... well, lips. Nothing special about them. Besides, if a boy had rose-petal lips, I would be seriously weirded out... I mean, most guys don't use lip balm, right? Right?!

Well, at least some of the other purple-prose-y stuff applied. My heart _did _feel all fluttery and my knees _did _get a little bit weak. But it wasn't that bad... Really...

"I'm sure if I told you that I had been waiting to do that for weeks, you wouldn't believe me." He finally said, stepping back a few paces. I saw, reflected in his glasses, Will gawking and Morty with a face that can only be described as "oh lord she's growing up".

"N-no, I-I wouldn't."

"Well, I did. And... Now you have to fight me!"

"_What_?!"

oOoOoOoOoOo

I walked into the Gym, unsure of what was waiting for me on the other side of the door. I saw Green look up at me with mild contempt as I made my way to his platform.

"What are you doing here, Kate?" he spat, glaring at me.

"To apologize."

"Apologize? That's not in your character."

"Last time I checked, we didn't know each other that well at all."

He blinked at me before making a _hmph_ and then said, "Apologize, then, if I didn't know you that well."

"About your Raticate."

"What?!"

"It was my fault, wasn't it? That was why whenever we battled after that, you always _had _to win."

"Oho, look who's a genius now. You were mean then, and if you think apologizing now is going to fix that damage, then... You can just turn around and leave."

I felt anger rising up in my chest. I scoffed and left.

"It's not like I actually was ever able to _see _the blood, idiot."

The door slammed behind me. I walked out into a field of black and white and gray and maybe a sepia if I was lucky. I didn't know why I felt like crying. Was I... getting soft? If that's what apologies do to you, then...

oOoOoOoOoOo

A/N: Okay I had way too much fun with Ivan and Mimi's argument there. And yes, yes, that WAS me last chapter! (oh lord now you know my basic appearance! dun dun duuuuuuun!) Please R+R! Just a few more chapters, so please stick with me! Then it's, yep, ON TO UNOVA! God, I can't waaaaaaaait!


	27. Chapter 27: To the League

Chapter 27:

The battle... Well, it didn't really end up happening. Miranda embarrassed Ivan so much that he ditched the idea and ran to the Indigo Plateau with his face burning. The rest of us just sort of stood around in the cave, unsure of what to say. Morty was smart and dropped the topic, but Will would not stop bringing it up. Even Miranda was getting sick of the shenanigans. Eventually she hit him on the head, and his bickering with her began. At least he stopped talking about it.

We got to the Pokemon League building, and I saw a familiar-looking Dugtrio sticking its head out of the ground. It tunneled inside and went along a garden. I turned around a corner and saw there was no one there... But then I saw the glint of some glasses.

"Didn't you already humiliate me enough?" I asked sarcastically, smiling.

"No. I'm not going to have you get all chilly in there, okay?" He slipped off his coat and tossed it to me. "I'll be cheering you on. But don't you dare say anything to the others."

I was a little stunned by this... But in hindsight it made a lot of sense. I put it on and zipped it up. He walked right past me and went to the stands. Morty didn't question it, and Miranda and Will seemed hardly surprised. My guess was that Morty had filled them in on what was happening behind the planter so they wouldn't be too shocked. I walked ahead to the counter and bought more Max Potions and revives, then walked through the gate, and I was herded to the right.

On the other side was something of a mountain pass. It was cold, and windy, and there was a constant, powerful jet of air coming out of a chasm. I stepped onto it and was blown to the other side. A guard checked that I had the Zephyr Badge and allowed me to pass. Next was a beautiful garden. There were many small bugs skitting around. The guard checked for the Hive Badge, then opened the gate to let me through. The next room was a castle of sorts. I walked into the courtyard and the guard checked for the Plain Badge, then allowed me through. The next room was a glass floor over the same strange fog in Morty's gym. I held up my badge case for the guard and he let me through. The other side of the gate revealed tatami mats and punching bags. I had to move the bags to the side to exit the room. The next room was a small beach-y area, with a lighthouse that held the gate. The guard saw me holding up the badge and let me through.

The next room had ice everywhere, but there was a small path of snow on the ground that I opted to crawl along. I heard the wind pick up when I was only a quarter along, signaling that I was taking far too long to cross. The snow was melting, and making my hands feel numb. I had scarcely made it halfway when I heard the wind get louder. I forced myself to stand, and forced myself to step, step, step, step, until I was off that blasted ice. I was shaking in numb terror when the man checked for the badge. He opened the door to the next room. The heat shock was overpowering. From arctic conditions to a volcano was pretty bad. I carefully made my way across the tetris-like objects and got to the other side. I held up the Rising Badge in front of a poster of it, and the poster rolled up to reveal a tiny resting area. I sat down on the bench and caught my breath, made sure my Pokemon were in order, and then proceeded through the door.

The first room was set up like a cross between a psychic's tent and a circus. In the center of the room stood a flamboyantly-dressed man with short purple hair and a black mask. He grinned and said loudly, "Bienevido! My name is Francesco Williams, the first Elite Four. I am a master of the Psychic type! Just because I am the first... Do not underestimate me!" A screen lit up between us, showing that he had only three Pokemon. He lead with a Xatu. The green bird stared at me, and I was more than a little creeped out. I decided to lead with Umber. It was a good enough choice in practice, as Dark-types were immune to Psychic attacks. Unfortunately Umber only knew one Dark-type attack, but I decided that I would spam it if I really had to.

"Umber, use faint attack!"

"Xatu, drill peck, on the double!"

Umber slowly walked up to Xatu, then jumped out of the way of its drill peck and pounced sharply on its back. It used it as a footstool to get some leverage in the air, then turned back and landed once more on its back. Xatu was beaten down, but definitely not giving up. It let out a sharp screech as it stood that made my hair stand on end. It then shot a glare at Umber. Scary face. Now, if I needed to, I couldn't swap out Umber.

"Er, use shadow ball!"

The move didn't do much damage. It took me a moment to realize that after that first command, Francesco was telling Xatu the commands telepathically. Xatu had just used protect. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. When I opened them, I could see the shield around Xatu that was normally invisible. Francesco looked shocked by my sudden skill, and I saw my reflection in Xatu's shield. There was an orange aura around me that was strongest at the Rainbow Wing in my hair. My eyes were glowing a flat orange color and my hair was sort of floating around me instead of sitting the way it normally did. I didn't know what was happening to me, or how it happened. But I had every intention of using it to my benefit. I had the thought in my mind for Umber to use dig to have Xatu let down its guard, and the next thing I knew, Umber was burrowing underground. Francesco looked around, and Xatu let its shield down. _Now_.

Umber leapt out of the ground, using iron tail and spinning in midair to take out Xatu. It flew into the air, hit the ceiling, then fell to the ground. It had fainted. The feeling subsided, and I felt a bit powerless. But after the performance that had just occurred, I knew what I was capable of, if only I could think straight.

Next he called out an Abra. It proceeded to teleport around the room wildly, trying to avoid another faint attack. I did my best to remain calm and closed my eyes. I pointed in a direction and yelled, "Okay, faint attack, go!" The Abra was teleporting at the moment, and just as Umber pounced, Abra appeared. It was enough of a jolt to him that it stunned him enough for another good hit. I repeated that process twice more before it finally went down. Umber was getting completely exhausted, but it had to go on.

The next Pokemon was a Grimer. At first, I had a brief moment of panic, but then I managed to calm myself down again.

"Umber, use dig!" Umber burrowed underground. Grimer followed him into the hollow. "Oh, no!" I yelled, falling backwards in shock.

"Ahaha! Now, Grimer, use smog!"

"Just kidding!" I jumped up. Francesco looked like the tables had been turned. "Umber, jump over him, quick! Then use iron tail over and over!"

Umber finally couldn't take the air any more and dug himself out. Grimer slithered out, much worse for the wear. "Now, finish it!" Umber slammed into the poison-type, and it collapsed into a puddle of fainted, poisonous goo. He sort of glared at me, then stepped aside, unlocking the door to the next Elite Four member.

The next room was a shady forest. Umber was poisoned from the last battle, so I gave him an Antidote to help him. I then switched out for Blaze. I heard a voice boom out through the room. "Who dares to enter the realm of Koga Murasaki?" A plume of smoke appeared across the room from me. It cleared and a tall man in a ninja suit emerged. "As the Ninja Master of Fuschia City, I accept your challenge. Poison, paralysis, sleep, confusion... They will all confound you!"

He lead with an Ariados. It started with string shot which was surprisingly effective at slowing Blaze. She increased the temperature of her fire long enough to free herself. "Blaze, once you get free, use overheat!" Ariados shot needles at Blaze, causing her some pain. I winced as she managed to get the webs off of her. She jumped into the air and fired a blast of hot air at the bug-type. It was effective, but didn't do as much as I had hoped. The poison likely was affecting her ability to attack. She shuddered with pain as the poison continued to take hold. _Stay calm, Mimi_. "Blaze!" She turned, and something began to happen. She got much taller, and a horn appeared on the top of her head. She had evolved- she had become a Rapidash.

"Blaze!" I smiled widely. The battle was far from won, but at least the poison was gone. "Use flare blitz!"

The flames on her mane shot out wildly, covering her in the light. She ran at Ariados and the flames exploded. It hurt, I could tell, but it worked. Ariados fell to the ground. Koga had four Pokemon instead of Fransesco's three, so I had three more to battle. Next was a Venomoth. It used double team repeatedly, and it was effective enough to completely confuse both of us. I thought for a moment or two before issuing another command- "Run around the circle!" Blaze kept going around, trying to keep up with the other Pokemon. She did so successfully, jumping ahead and kicking it out of the loop. It then used silver wind. While it was normally not as effective as it would be, Blaze was the lowest level on my team, and the contact caused her to be poisoned. It then attacked her again, causing her to faint. I returned her to her Pokeball, then sent out Trent. I had him use toxic spikes, then to flood the room with surf. It was enough to take out the tired-out moth. Next was a Swalot. The globular Pokemon attempted to swallow Trent, but Trent instinctually poked it with a tentacle, stunning it momentarily. Then Swalot used smog and I wasn't able to see the rest of the spat, but when the smog cleared both Pokemon were fainted.

I called back Trent and then called out Leafy. Koga revealed his final Pokemon- an Arbok. It used toxic, badly poisoning Leafy. Leafy retaliated with frenzy plant, which the Arbok dodged by slithering underground. Without even issuing the command, Leafy used earthquake, effectively causing a reversal of the battle. The tunnel collapsed, and Arbok jumped out, furious. Leafy raced towards it and used take down, causing it to faint.

Leafy landed and trumpeted to the sky triumphantly. I called him over and healed his status effect and HP, then revived Trent and Blaze, healing them. The next door unlocked and I proceeded through.

The next room was set up like a gym. A burly, muscular-looking man was bench-pressing an obnoxiously huge weight. "98... 99... 100." He threw the weight across the room, narrowly missing me and Leafy. He stood up from the bench and smiled. "Hello, miss. You're the new challenger, right? Bet you're wondering why I'm allowed in here."

"Actually... You're Bruno, right?"

"Yeah, that's me. I'm here because... Well, they... Didn't tell me... All I remember was a red lens and then a bunch of blurry... _things_."

"Uh... huh."

"Well, you're here to fight me, right? I do my battles one-on-one."

"Um... Okay."

He moved his benches out of the way while I prepared for battle. I got gave Leafy a Macho Brace and the battle began. He used a Machamp, but it was a huge, hulking thing, unlike the much smaller one that I saw when battling Chuck. The battle actually didn't last long, Leafy got tired of trying to out-grapple it and used earthquake, shaking it up pretty badly, then tripped it. It hit its head pretty hard, but got back up. Leafy then proceeded to use frenzy plant and it was over.

Bruno looked, surprisingly, impressed. He grinned widely, then even healed my Pokemon for me. I was a little bit shocked by his kindness, but... He had always seemed pretty nice, so I guess it made sense. I moved on to the next room.

It was completely dark, lit only by one light on the ground. A tall woman with platinum blonde hair stood on the light, her yellow dress catching the light.

"So you're the daughter of dreams and darkness?"

"... Huh?"

"The daughter of Caitlin and Richard Grimsley, idiot."

I recoiled, stunned. "Yes. And I'm not an idiot!"

"Hmph. We'll see about that. I do my battles three-on-three. There's no such thing as a draw here. If there's a draw, I, Karen, win."

"Fair enough. Let's go."

Her first Pokemon was a Houndoom. I lead with Trent, having him use toxic spikes to leave a trap. Then surf was used. It caused significant damage, but due to the dual typing, it did less than what it would have done to a pure fire-type. Trent only had other, weaker water-type moves on hand, so I swapped out to Togii. I had it use metronome, and just my luck, it was explosion. Togii fainted, but was able to take out the Houndoom. Karen laughed, drawing a tally in the air. "That's one point for me."

"Why didn't you attack back?"

"Because. Teasing my opponents, letting them see something I am not... There's nothing more fun."

I growled as she sent out her next Pokemon, a Weavile. I brought out Blaze, planning to take advantage of the half-ice typing. I had her use flare blitz, but I didn't expect the Weavile to know a water-type move. It used water gun, severely weakening her. She retaliated with overheat, and Weavile was left in a similar state. This time, though, I was able to win. The next battle was the tie-breaker- Umbreon vs. Umbreon.

It was a tough battle, and it took much too long for me to go into the details. But there was just enough time between Umber fainting and her Umbreon fainting for me to win. She glowered at me as she unlocked the door.

On the other side was another resting room. I sat down on the bench, letting my Pokemon out to let them get back their energy as well. The next thing I knew, a small alarm clock was going off next to me. At first, I panicked, thinking that my entire journey was a dream and I was home. But then I looked around and realized that I was in the Pokemon League, in the final room before the Champion. I took a deep breath and stepped through the door.

There's no other way to put it. Fighting Lance was a blur. I don't remember which moves were called, which Pokemon fell first. But all I remember is when it was all said and done, I was left with both Leafy and I shaking, our knees knocking, short of breath, but still standing. Lance's Dragonite fell to the ground. Lance walked to his partner Pokemon, congratulated it on a job well done, and returned it to its Pokeball. He walked towards me and took my quivering hand, and led me to the back room. I was shocked at who was waiting for me. Black hair spiked. Crimson eyes smiling. A grin stretching across his face.

"So we finally meet."

Red.

I walked towards him, and he shook my hand. I was in awe, and he asked for my Pokemon, to record us forever into the Hall of Fame.

I handed the orbs to him, and he placed them in a machine.

I saw my picture appear on a screen. I looked exhausted, but I was smiling. My picture that was on my Trainer ID appeared next to my current photo. I was wearing Ivan's coat, and I was a lot thinner. But I was taller too, and I looked a bit smarter. Then my pictures faded out and in flew pictures of my team.

It was about then that I think I passed out.

I dreamt of everything that had happened.

Will and Miranda sitting on a ledge, talking. Morty, Falkner, Jasmine, and Whitney, watching the sun set. Eusine watching Suicune. The Kimono Girls dancing. Rosette sketching designs by moonlight. Kate and Inferno walking along a beach. Maya and Alyssa swapping stories around a campfire. Bugsy chasing lightning bugs. Clair and Lance waltzing. The Elite Four standing on a mountain. Ivan going back to Lavender Town, then coming back to New Bark Town. My mother bringing me home, safe in her arms.

Then I see unfamiliar places, unfamiliar people that are intermingled with those I know.

And somehow it brings me a sweeter peace than anything I had ever seen.

And when I woke up in my bed at home, I didn't even let myself think it was all a dream.

Because I knew there are still many more adventures to be had. New places to see.

And something I wouldn't figure out for many, many years.

I got out of bed, and put on my jeans and blouse.

On my bedside table was a beautiful sketch of me, Will, Ivan, and Morty. In neat looking script, in the corner, it read, "Congratulations! -Morty"

**END OF JOHTO ARC**


	28. INTERLUDE 1

Interlude 1:

oOoJohtooOo

I walked across the sidewalks down to Elm's lab. When I walked up, I saw Ivan standing near the entrance. His Typhlosion was standing behind him.

"What are you doing?" I asked. He looked at me, mildly guiltily. "I'm going to return him."

"Huh?!"

"Yes. It was wrong, what I did... So I have to return him."

He opened the door before I could stop him. He walked in and apologized feverishly to Professor Elm, who simply shook his head. "You don't need to apologize. He seems truly happy. But you can prove that you're changing your ways by... Taking care of this little guy." Professor Elm picked up a small Pokeball and handed it to him. "It's a female Eevee. The females are a bit more tempermental than the males. Try to get an Espeon."

"An Espeon?"

"To compliment Mimi's Umbreon." He said, smiling. "You two are good friends, so why not? I bet it was because of her that you decided to do this, right?"

"It... It is."

"Then prove it to me that you've changed."

oOoUnovaoOo

School let out early today.

I skipped out of the school, smiling as I jumped the steps. I landed a little hard, the heels of my shoes clicking firmly on the ground. I raced down the road to my home, running up the apartment steps until I reached ours. My dad wasn't home, but my mom was. "Good afternoon!" I yelled, running upstairs. I tossed my backpack onto my bed and grabbed the Pokeball that held Smugleaf. It dashed down the stairs again, yelled, "Going to the Dreamyard with Gwynne and Dubh!"

I ran down the stairs of the apartment building again and ran down the street to the Cafe where my Dad worked. My friends always met me there. I walked in, and saw my dad standing at the podium at the front. "Welcome to Cafe a la Trois, are you here for battles or food? Ah, Rosette, welcome!" He walked over and hugged me, his blue hair permanently combed over one side of his face. "Gwynne and Dubh are already here. Come on, I'll take you to their table."

I followed him to where they were waiting for me. Gwynne was wearing a black v-neck sweater and green jeans, his platinum-blonde hair pulled out of his eyes. His blue eyes were framed by black-rimmed glasses. Dubh's long black hair was tied back with a lacy blue headband with a PokeBall adorning it. She was dressed in a blue sweater and a button-up shirt. Her pleated skirt was set firmly at her waist. In contrast to Gwynne's relaxed appearance, she was uptight and sat rigidly. I settled into my seat, attempting to jump into their currently conversation. "Gwynne, you are an idiot. The grammar in that sentence was completely incorrect."

"I'm sorry, okay? Foreign language is not my thing!"

"What was the sentence?" I asked.

"'I would like a soda.'"

I repeated the sentence back in almost perfect Johto dialect.

They both looked at me in mild shock before Dubh remembered where I had been most of the year... In Johto.

"Well, you've had a lot of practice with it. It's not like we all have Gym Leaders for parents and uncles."

"That was not the only reason I got to go! It's because my mother trusts me enough to let me travel..."

"Uh, what about your aunt?" Gwynne said, hiding behind his cup of tea.

A bit later, we had made it to the Dreamyard and we were practicing triple battles. It wasn't going too well... So we decided to wander around. We found nothing, so we went home, did our homework, and Gwynne and Dubh went to their own homes.


	29. Morning of Day 1

Chapter 1

The snow began to fall that night.

It was a new year. It had been five years since the Gracidea Contest when this was happening. I was told that when the new year came around, I could leave home on my real Pokemon journey. The only member of my team, besides my Swanna, that had fully evolved was Smugleaf. Everyone else I had purposefully held back their evolutions so they could keep learning powerful moves. So because of this, I decided that tomorrow, I would leave home with only Smugleaf with me. Gwynne and Dubh planned to do the same with their own starters. Gwynne had selected Oshawott way back when and Dubh had gone for Tepig. Now they had a fully grown Samurott and Emboar respectively. I looked up to the sky to see if the plane was flying in yet. When I heard the jet engines coming in for a landing at the Nuvema Town Airport, just a few miles away, my heart leaped. Auntie Mimi, and all of my friends from Johto were on that plane! I just couldn't wait to see them. I ran downstairs, as I heard Uncle Chili starting up the catering van. If I asked really nicely, maybe he would let me go. He opened the door for me and helped me get in. "Still wearing that dress, eh?" he asked me, steering it down the road to the airport to pick up the guests.

"It's not the same one as before. I made this one out of heavier material, and I have two versions I can wear now! Cold-weather and warm-weather, and I even made myself a rain coat!"

"That's great, honey." He leaned over when we reached a traffic light and he kissed my forehead. I rubbed it off my face with my sleeve.

"Uncle Cilan said you used to be a lot less affectionate," I complained, pretending to make a fuss and staring out the window. He just laughed and said, "Nah, he just never bothered to see me around kids! I swear, I start acting like their mom whenever I go to the Daycare to teach. I always have to straighten their coats, bandage their scrapes, sing lullabies when they sleep... And then when they graduate I start crying because..." He looked over at me, avoiding tears, "They just grow up so fast." I smiled slightly and looked back out the window. The houses were no longer lit by bright fairy lights, now instead lit by the gas lamps. We were soon out of the city limits and we were heading down the speed tunnel to Nuvema Town. The speed tunnels were originally made for bus tours, but now anyone with a car could use them. They popped up in large ports of call in various cities and towns, such as airports, train stations, and harbors. In this case, we were headed for Nuvema's Airport. We kept going straight till we reached the end of the road, which then spiraled up into a haphazard corkscrew. We arrived in the pickup lane of the airport, and we got there just in time. I smiled widely when I saw Mimi wearing the outfit I had made for her. The only thing that was different was a small, tin bell attached to a belt around her waist. Despite that, she looked quite sharp in the black sweater and white skirt I had made for her. She got in first, as she had packed the lightest. Next was Morty, who was wearing his father's heirlooms, a black sweater and white pants with a purple and red scarf. Ivan was wearing the coat I made for him, likely because Mimi had never given him the other one back. I had made it to match his current style, but also to keep him warm. It was a black nylon on the outside with fake sheepskin on the inside. Next was Will, who was wearing a red jacket over a checkerboard-print thermal shirt and long jeans. His hat and skate shoes were the same. Kate, Alyssa, and Maya all competed for the next into the van. Alyssa was wearing the same jacket as she usually did, but now had a white and black striped scarf, a beret, and a khaki skirt over long blue and black striped stockings. Maya managed to get in after her, wearing a black hoodie over her dress and having replaced her tights with an ivory-colored pair of leggings. Kate was last, and she seemed to have finally given up on colors- the only color in her outfit was her yellow shirt. Everything else was ebony and cream. Everyone looked exhausted, but Mimi smiled and handed Uncle Chili a $10 bill. "Thanks for picking us up. We really appreciate it."

"It's no trouble at all, Miss Grimsley." He took the bill and put it in his jacket pocket, then began to drive through the return tunnels. It was pretty quiet, except for the fact that my uncle was his usual inquisitive self, asking lots and lots of questions. A few of them were a little odd, like, "Anything you don't want to encounter here?" but he seemed to be doing so just to get a feel for why they were in Unova in the first place. We finally arrived at our apartment, and we all helped carry bags upstairs. I would have to share my room with Mimi and Kate for the night. I had finally adjusted to not referring to them as "aunties", rather, just by their names. We were actually all pretty close in age range, so it wasn't too big a deal for us. Kate filed her nails as I told Mimi (who was about to doze off) about everything I had learned. Before I dropped off to sleep, I heard Kate mumble something about how I regularly made sense now. I fell asleep with a wide smile on my face.

The next morning, Kate was still fast asleep, but I heard the shower running next door and Mimi singing. I put on my bathrobe and walked downstairs to the kitchen to eat. Ivan was already awake, eating some cereal and drinking some coffee. "Morning. Is Mimi singing?"

"Yeah, she is. Why?"

"She has a pretty voice, doesn't she?"

"Yeah." I smiled and got my cereal out of the cabinet. Dubh said that I need to move on to grown-up cereals, but honestly, how could I when Cubchoo Flakes were so good? They were like cornflakes, but with lots of sugar on them! You just can't beat that! It's impossible, I swear!

Anyway... I sat down to eat across from Ivan. He drank his coffee black, which surprised me. He seemed like the type to have a secret sweet tooth. But then... I noticed he was eating plain corn flakes... I gulped a spoonful of my own cereal to stop thinking about this blasphemy.

After breakfast, I went back up to my room and began to pack my school bag with the things I need. Oddly enough, I hadn't ever been to Lacunosa Town, so I had decided that that would be our first stop. I found out that Mimi and her friends would be going farther north. I met up with Gwynne and Dubh at the Southern City Gate, and we headed down the route together. I saw a tiny Lillipup nosing around in the grass, and without thinking twice, I threw a Pokeball at it. It made a clicking noise in midair before making contact with the Normal-type. It only rocked once before it made the characteristic clicking noise. I leaped into the air and let the little guy out. Er, rather, girl. I named her Faux, as in "faux fur", because if she ever got a fur coat it would _definitely _not be real fur.

We kept going down the road, and Gwynne caught a Munna from the Dreamyard, which the road looped into. He named it Munny. Dubh opted to catch a Purrloin.

I saw the huge hills of Lacunosa up ahead. We went up the tallest one and ran down the hill into the valley. At the foot of the valley was a smaller plateau, used for stage performances. There were some odd-looking people wearing white tunics and blue hoods. They were holding up some flags that had a strange symbol on it. It looked like a shield with a blue lightning bolt dividing the crest between black and white. Emblazoned over the crest was a sky-blue P.

A crowd was gathered around the stage. A group of the strangely-dressed people who seemed to be starting a Renfaire herded a tall, terrifying man up onto the stage. His hair was a pasty green, and he looked to be rather old, if not just young with an abnormally severe face. One eye was covered by a strange red monocle that looked almost like smoke coming off his eye. His clothes resembled a castle battlement, with two lengthy tapestries coming off either side.

"Hello, kind citizens of Lacunosa Town. Thank you for attending our rally." Dubh tried to drag me and Gwynne away, but after all that pomp, I wanted to see what this guy was all about. "I come to your fair town today to speak to you in the name of Team Plasma. Our organization works to achieve a goal of Utopia, that is, a Paradise where every living creature is equal to one another. However, this cannot come true if we continue to enslave the wonderful creatures known to us as "pocket monsters" or "Pokemon" for short. My, er, Plasma's goal, is that each trainer finds the love in their hearts for their team to release them to live free and fruitful lives!"

A man threw a water bottle onto the stage. "What do you mean?! We work together with Pokemon! We're all happy!" There were general cries of agreement throughout the crowd.

"Well, I, er, we believe that people should be parted from Pokemon. They are a way for us to obtain power. Do not say you have never thought of your Pokemon as this, in some form, at some point in your life? We use them for heavy labor, for petty beauty competitions, for entertainment, for battling, in which trainers have these glorious creatures attack one another, with the intention to harm, maim, kill! We claim they are our partners. But how do we know that they enjoy using their abilities at a command to harm another? We never heard of bands of Pokemon making war on one another until they saw mankind's example. And how long until they realize... That we are not so different from them? Put yourself in your Pokemon's shoes! Do you enjoy your day-to-day experience? It is unlikely!" The three of us exchanged glances that basically said, "Actually, I would."

Another man called up to the stage, "You haven't even introduced yourself! How can we trust a man without any name?"

"I am Ghetsis Harmonia. I am the Leader of Team Plasma's Seven Sages." He bowed to the crowd before turning to the side. "Thank you for your time." He strode off the stage with his enterage and the crowd dissipated into several larger groups. Some people released their teams on the spot, while others took their time, and still others talked about how crazy the man was. And apparently he smelled like some sort of cured meat that is not bacon. Weird.

After the crowd was pretty much gone, I saw a boy with long, spring green hair. And by long, I mean long. Probably as long as Mimi's hair. He was quite stylish, from his black and white baseball cap down to his black and white tennis shoes. His shirt, too, was a black, tight-fitting piece with 3/4 sleeves with a white polo over it, and his pants were khaki cargos. There was a pendant around his neck that resembled a planet, and a gold, Rubik's-cube-lookalike tied to his belt.

When he turned around, I saw his eyes were the most striking blue.

He held a small Purrloin in his arms. He smiled, then walked towards me. His voice was boyish, but _boy _did he talk fast. "So you're that girl that's been all over the world to train Pokemon? Rosette Trois, right? Daughter of a Gym Leader, right?" I blinked and nodded. "So you plan to catch a bunch of Pokemon and trap them in a Pokeball, right?"

"Well, when you put it like that, it sounds pretty mean..."

"Are you, though? Or is your quest to become better friends with your Pokemon?"

"Both..."

"Ah..." He glanced down at Faux, sitting at my feet. "What's going on?" He kneeled down and spoke to it for a moment in a completely normal tone of voice.

"Just now... Your Pokemon said..."

**A/N: Okay, that is IT for now! You can try to expect weekly updates from now on! You see, my main computer got hit with a nasty virus, so I'm giving up Internet on my home computer for a while. I still have mobile web and an email app, so I'll be able to see if you review (hint hint!).**

**Also, I'm very sorry the Elite Four and Champion Battles only were one chapter, I just really got tired of writing it by the time I got to Karen's last Pokemon (for the record, Mimi was originally going to have to beat the Elite Four twice because of Karen, and the second time around she was only going to win by a sliver of HP. I'm sure you can imagine it better than I can write it.) and they were also each supposed to have a chapter to themselves! Writing contests... It took a lot out of me. And then I had to write five long battles in one day? Nooooooo thank you. I hope you all understand my problem there.**

**So yeah, that's all, Maria out! Please R+R!**


	30. Day 1, Midday

Chapter 2

He stepped back, his eyes looking like he had been struck. It was pretty weird, in all honesty. "Wh-why would it say that, when... It's only just met you! This is crazy..."

"But here's my number, so call me maybe?" Gwynne said. He was swiftly bonked on the head by Dubh.

The boy turned and looked at Gwynne. "I... I do not understand..." I couldn't resist- "I do! I... I got that reference."

Everyone else just sort of stared at me again.

"Uh, anyway... Mysterious guy, mind telling me your name?"

"My name..." the boy smiled and set down his Purrloin. "It's N."

"Just... N?"

"Well, there is more to it. But my full name is not needed right now. I will tell you when it is."

"Uh... Huh."

"Well, as I was trying to say... Show me the voice of your Pokemon again!"

"Its... V-voice? It didn't e-even speak..."

"Oh, how disappointing..." He looked away, at the ground, and shook his head. "I though for sure someone like you could hear their voices. Pokemon have such wonderful tones to their voices. For instance, that Serperior's voice... It's very proud, melodious. Your Lillipup's voice is soft and energetic. That Emboar's voice is deep and gravelly, and that Samurott's voice is quiet but strong. It's a shame, what with your reputation... I thought if anyone could match the criteria, it would be you." There was a cold edge to his eyes now, glaring. "How very, very disappointing, Rosette."

I was a little bit stunned. This guy I barely knew, telling me about a "reputation"? Pretty weird, if you had asked me then. But in all honesty, a lot of what happened later on was even weirder. Anyway, what happened next?

I got a little bit angry at that. "Just what the heck do you mean? Who's criteria?!"

"Mine. You see... I agree with Team Plasma. Pokemon are only ever harmed by people. From what I can tell, you've never managed to get your Pokemon badly hurt. They're so weak that you rarely battle, since you can't stand to see them hurt."

"Th-that's not true! I... They're strong... But I hurt when they hurt...! It's not like I do it because I'm some kind of sadist! I battle because I want my Pokemon to become strong, so they can be happy with themselves! It's the same with fashion! You're not happy if you're not allowed to wear whatever you want."

"Fashion?" His eyes lightened up. "Do you design clothes?"

"Well, yeah..." I pulled my sketchbook out of my bag and handed it to him. He flipped through it, looking interestedly at a few pages. "You see, I make clothes to benefit both Pokemon and people. A lot of Pokemon have various parts of their body that are weaker than others, like Munna's flowers. So I make clothes that are both stylish and functional... It protects the weak parts of their body, and the trainer can have a matching outfit. There aren't really any Pokemon that I know, though, that have roses on them... But that's why I make outfits for every other kind of Pokemon and trainer!"

"Hm..." He closed the book and handed it back to me. "That's interesting. But the situation of a trainer's Pokemon is not as glamourous as you make it seem. Pokemon are still hurt in their struggles for the trainer's gain. It seems pointless to me! They are only ever hurt, and they don't really get anything to benefit them."

"I... I don't know what to say to that."

"I... I should go, then." He looked disappointed as he picked up his Purrloin. "We will meet again, Rosette. I hope you'll be able to hear their voices soon... Maybe then you'll see things my way." He turned away, looking at me for just another moment. Then he walked away, the Purrloin's tail swaying behind him.


	31. Day 1, Night

Chapter 3

I sighed loudly and decided to travel on. I left Gwynne and Dubh to their bickering and left town. I made my way back to Striaton City, only to find that my mother was out of town and dad and the others were out too.

I walked up to our apartment, trudging a little bit in the snow. I made my way up to the third floor on the slippery, icy steps, and unlocked the door with my key. The inside was completely silent, except for a young trainer that spent a lot of time with uncle Cilan. He had spiky black hair and a white and blue jacket. He was snoozing on the couch with a Pikachu at his feet, also asleep. I smiled and switched off the TV, which was blaring a rerun of a Pokemon League battle from years ago. I walked to my room, drew the curtains, closed and locked the door, dropped my bag to the floor, and went to sleep.

oOoOoOoOo

Far, far away from that spot, a group of three men in black clothing stood around a cold, dank stone room. A tall man cloaked in shadows stepped forward, revealing the cold visage of Ghetsis. He drew a book out of his cloak and began to read it. None of the three men could decipher the name on the cover.

He read the poem first in a foreign language before translating each stanza to them.

"This poem is called 'Heidenroeslein', or "Rosebud on the Heath."

_"Once a boy saw a little rose standing,_

_Little rose of the field,_

_She was so young and beautiful,_

_He dashed there to see her near._

_Beholden with abundant joy,_

_Little rose, little rose, little rose red, little rose of the field."_

"And the purpose of this command is?" The blue-eyed Shadow Triad member muttered under his breath. He crossed his legs and glared at Ghetsis as he continued to translate the poem.

_"Said the boy, 'I will pick you, my red rose on the heath!'_

_Said the rose, "I will prick you and I won't stand it,_

_And you will always think of me."_

_Little rose, little rose, little rose red, little rose of the field."_

"Making sense yet?" Ghetsis said, smiling wickedly at the trio.

"No, no…" The blue-eyed member shook his head. The red-eyed one put a hand comfortingly on his shoulder. The green-eyed one looked on with saddened eyes.

_"And the wild boy picked the rose, _

_little red rose of the field,_

_The little red rose fought and pricked,_

_And she screamed and cried,_

_And was forced to give up_

_Little rose, little rose, little rose red, little rose of the field."_

"Your command is to capture a certain group of people."

He handed them a list. The blue-eyed man looked stunned.

"This is your command. Do not fail me."

"Yes, master."

Ghetsis left the room, the door making a heavy _slam_ behind him.

End of Day 1


	32. Day 2, Morning

Chapter 4

I woke up with the sunlight streaming in through my window. I stretched and hopped out of bed. I put on my dress and combed my hair, putting it up in twintails. I checked my clock—I had slept in pretty late—it said 10:00 on it. I left the house in a run, grabbing my bag on my way out the door. I took the way down I hadn't taken in a long time—swinging my way down. I jumped over the rail and onto the thin ledge, then swung down to the floor before. I repeated the process down to the ground. I ran down the street, kicking up snow on the cobblestone streets. I ran past the movie theaters, the old grills, a League surplus store, and a side street leading to a bookstore. It took a while, but I finally ended up at the Café, which was an old forum back when Unova was still a young region. There was a girl wearing silver paint and clothes, looking like a robot. I dropped a Pokedollar into her basket, and she did a small dance before returning to a static pose.

I went up the stairs into the gym. I didn't need to deal with the curtains or anything, I simply asked my Uncle Chili for a battle. He agreed straightaway, and before I knew it, the arena was assembled. I called out Faux as he called out his Pansear. I lead with bite and Pansear used workup. I continued with bite until Pansear was sufficiently worked up. It unleashed inferno, which badly burned Faux. Faux didn't give in, though, and attacked back with tackle. The two grappled for a moment or two before Pansear was able to shake off Faux. Faux proceeded to use take down, causing Pansear to faint. I ran across the field to Pansear and handed him a small berry I had with me. It ate it thankfully and returned to Chili's side. Uncle Chili stepped down from the platform he was standing on and held out his hand. "You've earned this, Rosette. It's the trio badge." He smiled and handed me the badge that we had fought for. I proudly pinned it to the inside of my cape.

I said my goodbyes to my family and left town, running and smiling all the while.

**A/N: SHORT CHAPTERS YEAH**

**I like this a lot better than writing 5 pages per chapter, I feel like I can do more without being forced to jump ahead or dwell on extraneous things...**


	33. Day 2, Midday

I'm honestly surprised it's only been like, what, a couple months since my last update? D:

* * *

><p>Chapter 5<p>

I made it to Nacrene city around noon. I healed up my Pokemon with potions and berries before I headed further into town. It was a pretty neat place, with lots of old warehouses converted into art lofts and shops. I wandered around for a bit, admiring the town and the artistry around town. I explored around town before finally deciding to stop into the café for a bite to eat. I was walking towards it when I saw a familiar face—and that familiar face saw me.

"Rosette?"

I leaned closer to make sure it really was N before I smiled. "I have so much to talk to you about. I'll buy you some food, okay?" His voice was just as fast as before, but he seemed genuinely excited to see me. It made me pretty happy, at the very least.

We sat down at a table in the corner. First he asked to look at my sketchbook again. He flipped through it a few times before taking out a pencil and scribbling some notes on the paper. At first I was a little upset, but then I realized he was fixing the dimensions for me.

"I gave what you said some thought, and I have to say that you and I seem pretty similar. I figure since, even though you capture them, you wanna be friends with them, right? You're like a princess. So I tried to make your outfits match you since you're gonna make so many new friends." He smiled widely and handed the book back to me.

"A princess?" I repeated. My dad only ever called me that when I was really little.

"Yeah! And you should use these kinds of fabric." He gestured to a small list. He then pulled a small notepad out of his bag and began scribbling numbers down. The list read, in a script so nice that it looked like a typewriter had _click-clacked _it out years ago:

_1_

_2_

_3_

_5_

_7_

_11_

_13_

_17_

_19_

_23_

_29_

_31_

_37_

_41_

_43_

_47_

_53_

_59_

_61_

_67_

_71_

_73_

_79_

_83_

_89_

_97_

_101_

"What's that?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

"It's a list of prime numbers. Every day I pick out a different set of numbers and I write them down to help me think. You should try it."

"I dunno… I'm not so great at math… Words, I'm good at words!"

"What're your favorite words then?" He pulled another notepad out of his bag and handed it to me. "You could pick a different meaning every day, like a thesaurus. It's really fun." He smiled, then began doing complicated algorithms and formulas with the numbers. After only a few minutes, he held up a formula that read

_R=023773_

"Can you read it?"

"Um…"

He erased the equal sign and held it up again.

_R023773_

"Is it a robot?"

"No, no, it's your name, using the formula for the radius of a circle. The radius of the Entralink is 23773 meters. I added the 0 for effect." He grinned. "There's not much you can do with an N…"

"You might not be trying hard enough. Nice, neat, nifty, number, natural, noble, Neptune, new, neutron, necessary, nabob (a man of wealth or prominence), nadir (the lowest point), native, nap, narwhal, nasturtium (a plant with showy yellow flowers, a kind of cress)…"

"…."

"Did I needlessly name too many nouns?" I giggled slightly. A light red blush peppered his cheeks.

"No, I just… I never thought that so many good words started with N."

"You'd be amazed." I laughed, covering my mouth with my hand, like I was used to doing. His eyes lit up. "You do that too, when you laugh?" He asked, leaning over the table a little bit. I put my hand back on the table to drink my tea. It was good. Not as good as the tea at home, but extremely delicious anyhow. I began sketching in my notebook, a small doodle of an outfit I wanted to make for myself.

"Hey, what would you consider your favorite Pokemon to be?"

I looked up from my drawing. "I don't really have a favorite. As long as me and my Pokemon get along, I don't mind their type. Even if we have to work to become friends, it makes it even more worthwhile in the end." He nodded, smiling. "I understand. Rosette, how 'bout I teach you how to talk to Pokemon?"

"Eh?"

"It's really fun, come on!"

And with that, he grabbed my wrist, left a large sum of money on the table to pay for our drinks, and ran with me out of the restaurant.

He took me out to a nice field, and immediately set out looking for a Pokemon to chat with. "Ah, an Audino!"

I prepped a Pokeball, but the Audino squeaked in fear and N shot me a disapproving glance. "Rosette, I understand, given who you are, that you feel that there is nothing wrong with attacking Audinos for experience. However, because of that sole reason, many Audinos fear humans."

"Oh…" My face fell as he spoke with the Audino. It caught right on to his speech and the two jabbered back and forth for a few minutes. "She said she forgives you, and I told her you're actually pretty nice."

Admittedly, I was kind of touched that he had called me nice to a Pokemon. Still, I wondered why he was so familiar with me. Yeah, I'm a gym leader's daughter, but the Trois family is pretty tight-lipped about family business, to my knowledge. I know my name is public, but really only gym leaders bother taking note. I wondered for a moment if his father was some sort of gym leader. Maybe he wasn't from around here? I honestly was far from sure at that point in time.

N smiled at me. He had been talking to the Audino while I had been lost in thought. "She wants to go with you!" The little thing smiled in turn and toddled towards me. I smiled and hugged it, scratching gently at the fur behind its ears. It was then that N leaned pretty close, albeit a bit shyly. I could feel his breath on my cheek. He reached for my hand, then held it out to the Audino. It sniffed my hand and blinked confusedly. "Now, try talking to it. You've been around Pokemon for long enough too, right?"

"Yeah, I guess…" _What's the worst that could happen?_

"My name is Rosette. What's yours?"

It chirped back enthusiastically.

"What did she say?" N asked, his eyes sparkling. I laughed, covering my mouth again. "She said that she likes you too. And that you have a funny hat."

N gawked for a second before he started laughing too. The trio of us spent a good minute or two laughing before we all fell back in the grass, staring up at the clouds. The snow was still falling on the ground, but it was nice compared to the icy roads we'd had to deal with. "She also said that she didn't have a name yet."

He looked thoughtfully up the sky.

"You name your friends, right?"

"Yeah, I do."

"I don't really like doing that. But I guess in this case it'd be okay. You could name her Chapeu."

"Because of the hat thing?"

"Yeah."

I dug an empty Pokeball out of my bag. I clicked the button and Chapeu flew into it in a flash of red light.

N was still holding my hand.

"Um, why are you…?"

"Why am I what?" His face wasn't blushy at all. He was a little kid in a lot of ways, but he was immune to the whole "girls have cooties" thing.

"Holding my hand, still?"

Let me go ahead and get one thing straight. I didn't mind, no, b-but, it's not like I thought he was cute or anything! H-heck no! Yeah, he was nice, he seemed to be sweet (if a little crazy), and, well, he was very attractive, but I-I didn't have a crush on him or anything!

"It feels really nice," was his only answer.

This weirded me out a little bit.

"Explain a little further?"

"I've… Never held hands with a person before."

"Really?"

"No, never. My daddy…" His eyes got a little bit cloudy. "I was grounded a lot when I was young."

I dropped the subject, since he seemed pretty bothered by it. I gave his hand a soft squeeze, and he smiled.

"It's a shame."

"Hm?" I turned to face him, suddenly worried if I had offended him.

"Even nice people like you will have to give up their Pokemon. It wouldn't be fair if only a few people got to keep their Pokemon, you see."

I got a little frustrated and turned away.


End file.
